Jian Wang makes his solo debut on DG with the two known Haydn cello concertos – part of every serious cellist’s repertory. Composed for two cellists, Josef Weigl in the 1760s and Anton Kraft in 1783, these works also represent different aspects of Haydn’s craft: the long lines, singing tunes and lightly worn virtuosity, along with an inimitable mixture of folkishness and courtly gestures.
Wang’s recorded interpretations reveal a technically assured and virile player. Like a racehorse, though, his style is nervy and at times skittish. His vibrato is quick, too quick in the slow movements for my taste, and the sustained notes rather too shaped, to the point of sounding wobbly. However, he draws beautiful lines in the high register from his Amati cello – delicate and crisp – though the same instrument often produces rather dry chords and gruff-sounding passage-work on the lower strings. Wang’s intonation is superb, with the exception of the notorious octave scales in the D major Allegro. His cadenza for the C major Moderato proves disappointing, and it’s certainly bland in comparison with Maurice Gendron’s for the D major Allegro Moderato.
The Gulbenkian Orchestra under Muhai Tang offers stylish support, although the violins move at a different speed from the lower instruments (which seem to lag behind) in the opening of the C major Adagio. The finale is taken at a gallop and, rather alarmingly, during a solo passage in the D major Adagio, the music practically stops in its tracks. This recording is not for me (Steven Isserlis’s much admired RCA reading is more to my taste), but will doubtless have its admirers.'