Carl Reinecke - Harp Concerto; Flute Concerto (Fabrice Pierre; Patrick Gallois)

Information

Composer: Carl Reinecke

• Harp Concerto in E minor, Op. 182
• Flute Concerto in D major, Op. 283
• Ballade, Op. 288

Fabrice Pierre, harp

Patrick Gallois, flute

Swedish Chamber Orchestra

Date: 2004

Label: Naxos

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Review

If Robert Schumann had written concertos for the flute or harp, they probably would have sounded something like these. German composer Carl Reinecke was born in 1824 in the town of Altona, not far from Hamburg. A pianist and a pedagogue, as well as a prolific composer, he made the rounds throughout much of Europe, and was acquainted with Neils Gade in Denmark, with Franz Liszt in Weimar, and, in Leipzig, with Felix Mendelssohn and Robert and Clara Schumann. He taught Edvard Grieg and Sir Arthur Sullivan, among others, and served as a professor (and later director) at the Leipzig Conservatory. When he died at the age of eighty-five in 1910, the music world was undergoing rapid changes, but the conservative Reinecke was not a firebrand. The Flute Concerto, composed in 1908, is hardly more advanced in style than the Harp Concerto, which was composed in 1884.

That doesn't mean that these works are uninteresting. Anything but, as a matter of fact. Both of them are charming and tuneful – Romantic and robust in spirit. (Even though the Harp Concerto is in a minor key, it is cheerful and purposeful.) Neither loses its appeal after several listens. Reinecke understood both instruments very well. His Flute Sonata (nicknamed "Undine") remains in the repertoire thanks to his idiomatic writing. Reinecke might not have set the world on its ear, but he was an expert musician.

These works have not been over-recorded. Nicanor Zabaleta's recording of the Harp Concerto (DG) is an old favorite, as is Jean-Pierre Rampal's Erato recording of the Flute Concerto. Fabrice Pierre and Patrick Gallois don't need to defer to those old masters, however. Because Reinecke's concertos usually are used as "filler," I don't think these two works have been paired together before. The present CD is self-recommending, then, if it's the repertoire that interests you primarily. Anyway, I feel that both of these soloists are more interested than their predecessors in putting Reinecke's music in the right cultural context. These are stylish readings, devoid of "look what I can do" display for the sake of display, yet not at all lacking in the technical and emotional skills needed to make these concertos work. I also appreciate how Pierre and Gallois conduct each other's works – now that's teamwork! The Swedish Chamber Orchestra, based in the city of Örebro, will make their fellow citizens proud with this CD. The engineering complements the performances, and Keith Anderson's booklet notes are a fine introduction to the composer… as is the CD itself. Don't hesitate: this is a good one!

— Raymond Tuttle

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Carl Reinecke (23 June 1824 – 10 March 1910) was a German composer, pianist, conductor and educator. He began composing at seven and performed publicly at twelve. After studying with prominent musicians, including Mendelssohn, Schumann and Liszt, he became court pianist in Copenhagen in 1846. In 1860, he was appointed conductor of Leipzig's Gewandhaus Orchestra and professor at the Leipzig Conservatory, leading the orchestra until 1895. Best known for his flute sonata Undine, Reinecke composed nearly 300 published works and taught influential musicians, including Edvard Grieg and Leoš Janáček.

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Fabrice Pierre (born 27 July 1958 in Paris) is a French harpist, conductor and educator. He studied harp with Pierre Jamet and orchestral conducting with Paul Ethuin and Franco Ferrara. In 1980, Pierre Boulez appointed him assistant conductor of the Ensemble Intercontemporain. In 1984, Pierre won first prize at the Marie-Antoinette Cazala International Harp Competition and became harp professor at the Lyon Conservatoire. Pierre maintains an international career, performing, teaching masterclasses, and promoting contemporary music. He has recorded for major labels such as Deutsche Grammophon, EMI and Naxos.

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Patrick Gallois (born 1956) is a French flutist and conductor. He studied with Jean-Pierre Rampal at the Conservatoire de Paris. At the age of 21 he became principal flutist of the Orchestre National de France under Lorin Maazel, serving in that capacity from 1977 to 1984. In 1984 he left this post for a career as a soloist and conductor. Gallois has played under many famous conductors, including Leonard Bernstein, Karl Böhm, Pierre Boulez, Sergiu Celibidache, Eugen Jochum, and Seiji Ozawa. He has had an exclusive recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon and, more recently, has recorded with Naxos.

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