Rubbra: Violin Concerto / Improvisations

Edmund Rubbra's 11 symphonies and large-scale choral works are his best-known efforts, but his occasional forays into the concerto genre are also worth noting, though one should explore them with diminished expectations. Violinist Krysia Osostowicz and the Ulster Orchestra, conducted by Takuo Yuasa, present the rather ambitious and cumbersome Concerto for violin and orchestra, Op. 103 (1959), with clarity and intensity, and on the strength of their playing, make it the only worthwhile offering on this 2005 Naxos disc. Osostowicz's penetrating tone and polished technique are admirable, and the orchestra supplies surprisingly fluid accompaniment, even though Rubbra's music is at times too plodding and ponderous. This lively performance saves the concerto, and makes it worth a serious hearing, even if it is an uncomfortably earnest and graceless piece. There is little reason, however, to get excited over the brooding and gloomy Improvisation for violin and orchestra, Op. 89 (1956), which just goes in circles for 12 exasperating minutes; and one may feel even less enthusiasm for the Improvisations on Virginal Pieces by Giles Farnaby, Op. 50 (1938-1939), which are neo-Renaissance fancies of little color or feeling, similar in style to Peter Warlock's Capriol Suite, but without the charm or imagination. Because this music is quite lackluster, Naxos' fine sound quality may seem less vibrant than it really is. - All Music Guide