Premiered in 1969 by Janos Starker, Miklos Rozsa’s Cello Concerto is a substantial, concentrated and (above all) superbly accomplished creation. What is immediately striking is not so much the beguilingly tangy harmonic resource and rhythmic flair of Rozsa’s inspiration (the composer’s native Hungarian roots shine through in every bar) as the effortless technical assurance and irresistible colour of it all (Rozsa’s expert scoring is a real treat throughout). The eventful, beautifully proportioned first movement is rich in strong ideas, persuasively worked out, and features a cadenza which combines eloquence and riveting virtuosity. By contrast, the central Lento con grand espressione is songful and tinged with anguish (witness the impassioned orchestral cry at 5'19''), whereas the Allegro vivo finale, save for a brief, shadowy slower episode, positively swaggers with spiky energy and (again) terrific rhythmic elan. According to the excellent annotator David Wishart, the Cello Concerto is, by this composer’s standards “a spare, austere accomplishment, a sober step aside from the overt lyricism which characterizes most of his orchestral work”. Be that as it may, I personally found it a big-hearted, strongly communicative work that demanded (and received) an immediate rehearing.
Like Rozsa, Gerard Schurmann has gained a reputation as a composer of both film and ‘serious’ music (tantalizingly, the two men were near-neighbours in Hollywood for some 15 years, but never actually met). Scored for cello obbligato and orchestra, The Gardens of Exile was finished in January 1991 and bears a dedication to Sir Michael Tippett. In an introductory note the composer explains: “The condition of exile referred to in the title of this piece is internal, while the metaphorical gardens in which to dwell contain cultivated memories of the past, back to childhood. Superimposed on this idea were my recollections of a vast expanse of semi-wild tropical gardens in Java, once part of the Dutch East Indies, in which I was allowed to play and roam freely as a child during the holidays.” Elegantly structured and the product of a sophisticated aural imagination (the orchestration is exotic, luscious even), Schurmann’s music has something of the craft and angular lyricism of his teacher, Alan Rawsthorne. In fact The Gardens of Exile is a most beguilling score and the present, beautifully prepared reading makes a welcome addition to Schurmann’s unaccountably meagre representation on disc.
Peter Rejto is a commanding, highly articulate soloist and his contribution has both discipline and tonal lustre to commend it. Moreover, Howard Williams and the Pecs Hungarian Symphony Orchestra accompany watchfully and with obvious dedication. Balances throughout seem eminently well judged, but the overall sound could have done with more bloom – the acoustics of the Franz Liszt Hall in Pecs are evidently not of the most flattering. A most enjoyable pairing, none the less.'