Anne-Sophie Mutter and John Williams: Mutter is the dedicatee of Williams’s Second Violin Concerto

A C O S T A

I O

D A R

:

P H O T O G R A P H Y

of themes flung out with terrific exuberance and restless panache. The first of the work’s major love scenes is very erotic, though the second, with its unforgettable oboe solo, may strike some as fractionally too cool: the playing is exquisite, almost aristocratic in its poise, but you miss the sensual languor that some interpreters – Fritz Reiner (RCA, 10/61), for instance – bring to the music here. Once the work gathers pace again with the famous horn calls, however, the momentum, excitement and brilliance are maintained until satiety and death consume everything at the close. Welser-Möst’s Till Eulenspiegel, meanwhile, is a model of transparency, its restraint and elegance throwing its wit into sharp relief. This is not to say that there’s a lack of pathos or, where necessary,

power: the Cleveland brass and percussion sound awesome when we reach Till’s execution, while his clarinet squeals of protest are at once funny and desperately sad. But Welser-Möst’s lightness of touch, combined with the refinement of the playing, allows us to hear the work as a scherzo as well as a rondo, and the dividends are enormous: Till is endearing as well as impudent; the music smiles, laughs and occasionally sobs; and the humour never turns caustic as it can all too easily do. It’s another outstanding performance. You could argue that the programme is rather short at 46 minutes but the playing is exceptionally fine, and Macbeth and Till are essential listening. Tim Ashley Spatial Audio comment: Franz Welser-Möst’s wonderfully engaging way Violin Concerto No 2. The Long Goodbye – Theme. Raiders of the Lost Ark – Marion’s Theme. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back – Han Solo and the Princess

60 GRAMOPHONE 60 GRAMOPHONE SHORTLIST 2022

gramophone.co.uk