Concertos etc by Vivaldi, Strozzi, Monteverdi, György Kurtág et al
Anastasia Kobekina (cello); Kammerorchester Basel/Julia Schröder
Sony Classical G010005107218G 72:35 mins
Taking a leaf from the Italo Calvino novel Invisible Cities, this kaleidoscopic ‘concept album’ evokes the haunting beauty of Venice and its lingering impressions in the memory. The repertoire lurches from Baroque to contemporary, fuses ‘dream, myth and drama’ and above all showcases the breathtaking versatility of the young Russian-born cellist Anastasia Kobekina.
Unsurprisingly, Vivaldi falls under the spotlight – but jazzed up as never before. The Red Priest’s cello concertos flaunt Kobekina’s electrifying virtuosity and the high-octane playing of the Basel Chamber Orchestra under violinist Julia Schröder’s spirited direction. Yet beyond the fireworks there’s real musicality: Kobekina is thoroughly conversant with Baroque style and she draws a mellifluous, multi-hued sound, never over-egging it with too much vibrato.
We also hear arrangements of popular Baroque vocal works: plangent opera arias from Arianna and Orfeo by the Cremonese-Venetian Monteverdi, and laments by Dowland and Barbara Strozzi, who paint melancholy shades over this portrait of Venice. Kobekina makes the cello sing and sigh and weep with real pathos.
Monteverdi’s ‘Lamento’ from Arianna is also the inspiration behind Ariadne’s Lament by Vladimir Kobekin (Anastasia’s father), a yearningly beautiful work for viols and solo cello which, with its ‘antique’ timbres and contemporary harmonies, telescopes past and present. Other contemporary works bring to mind the Serenissima’s soaring Gothic architecture, its rocking gondolas, its shimmering light, flitting shadows and, ultimately, its misty, nebulous, dream-like qualities. To them all, Kobekina and her colleagues bring lyricism and poetry, rhythmic drive and a remarkable range of colours and expressive effects. Though the disc is something of a potpourri, it’s impossible not to be intoxicated by it.