Antonio Janigro (1918-89) is best remembered in the United States as conductor of I Solisti di Zagreb, a virtuoso chamber orchestra that made many recordings for Vanguard in the 1950s and ’60s. He also was a formidable cellist, as this beguiling recital fully demonstrates. Most of the works here are transcriptions, yet Janigro plays them with such expertise and conviction that you might think they were originally written for cello. From the vibrant Goyescas “Intermezzo” that opens the program, through the opulent Fauré “Après un reve”, to the dynamic Falla “Ritual Fire Dance”, and on to the scintillating Rimsky-Korsakov “Flight of the Bumblebee”, this is a singular musical journey that presents 16 highly polished musical diamonds, each seeming to shine brighter than the last. Throughout, Janigro’s intonation and rhythm are sure, his passion extraordinary, and the sound of his instrument voluptuous. He is partnered, rather than merely accompanied, by Antonio Beltrami, and recorded in close-up, intimate sound that could scarcely be better.
