Truls Mork – Cello Concertos (5 CD box set, FLAC)

Orchestra: Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra
Conductor: Iona Brown, Mariss Jansons, Paavo Järvi, Eiji Oue
Composer: Franz Joseph Haydn, Antonin Dvorak, Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky, Sergey Prokofiev, Nikolay Myaskovsky, et al.
Audio CD
SPARS Code: DDD
Number of Discs: 5 CD box set
Format: FLAC (image+cue)
Label: Virgin Classics
Size: 1.21 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

CD 01
Joseph Haydn
Cello Concerto in C major Hob VII:1
01. I Moderato
02. II Adagio
03. III. Finale: Allegro molto

Cello Concerto in D major Hob VII:2
04. I Allegro moderato (cadenza: Maurice Gendron)
05. II Adagio
06. III Finale: Allegro

CD 02
Antonín Dvořák
Cello Concerto in B minor op.104
01. I Allegro
02. II Allegro ma non troppo
03. III Allegro moderato

Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
Variation on a rococo theme op.96
04. Moderato quasi andante
05. Moderato semplice
06. Variation I – Tempo della thema
07. Variation II – Tempo della thema
08. Variation III – Andante sostenuto
09. Variation IV – Andante grazioso
10. Variation V – Allegro moderato
11. Variation VI – Andante
12 Variation VII & Coda – Allegro vivo

CD 03
Sergey Prokofiev
Sinfonia concertante for cello and orchestra in E minor, op.125
01. I Andante
02. II Allegro giusto2
03. III Andante con moto7

Nikolay Myaskovsky
Cello Concerto in C minor op.66
04. I Lento, ma non troppo – Andante – Tempo I
05. II Allegro vivace – Andante seplice e tranquillo – Lento come prima

CD 04
Dmitri Shostakovich
Cello Concerto No.1 in E flat major op.107
01. I Allegretto
02. II Moderato
03. III Cadenza
04. IV Finale: Allegro con moto

Cello Concerto No.2 op.126
05. I Largo
06. II Scherzo (Allegretto)
07. III Finale (Allegretto)

CD 05
Aaron Jay Kernis
Colored Field, concerto for cello and orchestra
01. I Colored Field
02. II Pandora Dance
03. III Hymns and Tablets4
04. Musica Celestis for string orchestra
05. Air for cello and orchestra

Get your fulls of Truls

When all these recordings were first released I remember admiring them very much but not buying them as I already had versions of these works by Rostropovich and DuPre and there was a budget to try and follow. I was very excited to see this exceptionally cheap box come onto the market that gave me a chance to enjoy these very fine performances.

What is Truls about? His interpretations are certainly not about himself. He is never self indulgent or musically willfull and there is a wonderful lightness to his playing, which is used to wonderful effect in the Haydn recordings which bristle with energy. The Shostakovich first cello concerto is one of the 20th century’s most exciting works and Mork excells at bringing out its razor sharp rhythic edge.

There are fine recordings of the Dvorak and Tchaikovsky and a whole disc of Kernis. That is the beauty of these sets, they allow you to discover works you may not purchase on their own. He is accompanied by top notch orchestras and like minded conductors and the sound is excellent.

If you are not familiar with his playing this set gives you a perfect opportunity to get to know him without breaking the bank. It will compliment other recordings you may have of these works. Also a perfect present for that neice of yours who is learning cello.

A true bargain.