Paul Tortelier’s legacy is being overlooked lately, another victim of ongoing catalog trimming. There’s not much of his stuff available right now, and so it’s nice to see this lovingly assembled tribute from Chandos and one of its top artists, who just happens to be the great cellist/composer’s son. The Double Cello Concerto, which Tortelier wrote to perform together with his wife, could not receive a more dedicated and thoughtful interpretation. Arto Noras bravely partners the composer’s widow, who must have been a formidable player when she and her husband took the stage together in the 1940s and ’50s. They complement each other well, always matching phrasing and articulation in the many spots that are basically dialog between the two instruments. There’s quite a bit of finger slipping in both parts, more in the knuckle-busting, quasi-fantasie first section of the finale than anywhere else, but it’s definitely a distraction throughout. Otherwise, the duo is musically very solid, and especially beautiful in the build-up to the climax of the second movement. Yan Pascal Tortelier leads a very responsive BBC Philharmonic in an accompaniment that is more accomplished than the solos. The balance is very good, and it’s all presented in very clear, full sound.
Chandos’ re-engineering of Tortelier’s own 1977 EMI recording of his D minor Suite for solo cello, a meditation on the solo cello works of Bach and Reger, is very up-close and personal–and you won’t get a more authoritative performance than this, in which Tortelier’s magnificent tone and brilliant personality are ideally displayed. This alone should be worth the price of the disc for all cello lovers. Filling out the program is an enjoyable 1989 rendition of Offrande by the strings of the Marlboro Festival Orchestra, demonstrating Tortelier wearing the additional hat of conductor. The dynamic range is a bit squared off, and the reproduction sounds unnaturally close. Tortelier the father is represented by the charming morsel for violin and orchestra, Your Grey-Blue Eyes, and Yan Pascal’s loving reminiscences printed in the liner booklet are an added treat. Despite a couple of flaws, this is a most welcome tribute to a wonderful artist.
