Lola Bobesco · Concerto Recordings 1957-1960

October 2019 ∙ MusicWeb International ∙ Lola Bobesco plays Violin Concertos 1957-1960
This is the third volume of radio recordings issued by Meloclassic, featuring the Romanian violinist Lola Bobesco. These recordings derive from two sessions taped in 1957 and 1960. The orchestra in both cases is the Südfunk-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart under the inspirational direction of Hans Müller-Kray. They have been expertly restored by Lynn Ludwig. In the Beethoven Concerto, the first movement tempo is a tad held back by Müller-Kray. The other two items on the disc predate the Beethoven by three years. The opening Allegro of Bach’s Violin Concerto in A minor, BWV 1041 is nicely paced and briskly delineated. The Andante is stately and noble; Bobesco is tender and ardent in the shaping of her phrases. In the Allegro assai, the lightly sprung dance rhythms are dispatched with an appealing deftness, and they truly sparkle. On the evidence, the source material has been well preserved, and the Villa Berg, Stuttgart provides a pleasing venue. Meloclassic’s accompanying liner notes give interesting background on the artist.
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October 2019 ∙ MusicWeb International ∙ Lola Bobesco plays Violin Concertos 1957-1960
The collaboration between Lola Bobesco and conductor Hans Müller-Kray in the late 1950s and early 1960s has proved fruitful for Meloclassic. She takes a broad tempo for the Beethoven first movement and for those unsympathetic things can sound a little sluggish from time to time. What’s not in doubt is Bobesco’s canny use of intensified vibrato speed, finger position changes and shifts and at this slowish speed one can also hear orchestral detailing that passes by in more tensile readings. Both the Bach and Vitali performances come from a single concert broadcast from Stuttgart’s Villa Berg in July 1957. The Vitali is heard in the orchestration made by her long-time sonata partner Jacques Genty, not the familiar Respighi. She plays this with lyricism and with real flair. The audio restorations are fully up to the high standards established by Meloclassic and with classy artwork and notes this can enthusiastically be added to the roster of imaginatively programmed discs from this label.
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December 2019 ∙ British Gramophone ∙ Rob Cowan ∙ Lola Bobesco plays Violin Concertos 1957-1960 1965-1968
A 1960 recording of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto by Lola Bobesco (MC2036) is also deeply affecting. Also included are Bach’s A minor Concerto, whose eight-minute Andante harks back to the days when Bach slow movements were played religioso, and an orchestration of Vitali’s Chaconne by Bobesco’s friend and musical collaborator Jacques Genty. Müller-Kray and the Stuttgart RSO provide sober but effective accompaniments and the mono sound is generally excellent. As with all these Melo Classic releases, the annotation is hugely informative.
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May 2020 ∙ French Diapason ∙ Jean-Michel Molkhou ∙ Lola Bobesco plays Violin Concertos 1957-1960
Élève de Jules Boucherit au Conservatoire de Paris, Lola Bobesco (1921-2003), fut la plus jeune lauréate (7e prix) du Concours Ysaye en 1937 remporté par David Oistrakh. Installée en Belgique après la guerre, elle deviendra une figure de l’école franco-beige, comme concertiste et pédagogue. Meloclassic exhume trois archives de la Radio de Stuttgart, et d’abord un concerto de Beethoven (dont elle n’a réalisé aucune gravure officielle), aux tempos retenus, en 1960, sous la baguette sévère de Hans Müller-Kray. Elle y montre une sonorité intensément vibrée et d’un bel aplomb, à défaut de charme et de fantaisie. En 1957, ce BWV 1041 de Bach au style tout aussi académique et cette lecture romantique de la Chaconne de Vitali témoignent d’une esthétique opulente, vestige d’un autre temps.
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