As the greatest cello virtuoso of his day and an accomplished composer, Boccherini unsurprisingly posed technical problems in this, the ninth of his 11 cello concertos—and the best known. Both Turovsky and Lodeon (Erato) surmount them with apparent ease, the latter with slightly more secure intonation. There really is little to choose between these two versions of this gracious and heart-warming music—if you already have the earlier one there is no pressing need for this later one (though I incline slightly towards it for its more restrained expressiveness and warmer sound), but what may well answer the question 'to buy or not to buy?' is the coupling; Lodeon adds Concerto No. 10 of Boccherini, Turovsky brings two new works to the catalogue.
The Cello Concerto of J. C. Bach, unlisted in Grove, appears to have surfaced as a 'with piano' work for an unspecified solo string instrument, via Saint-Saens and who brought it to its recorded state is not disclosed. The thematic material of its outer movements might have come from a 'lost Brandenburg Concerto' (No. 7?), though not its mode of treatment, whilst the central Adagio is a (here) tenderly delivered 'love song'. The Sinfonia Concertante, a delightful two-movement piece (Andante and Rondeau), every inch Mozartian, casts no backward glance. The two Turovskys wring every drop of charm from it. As in the Boccherini, Turovsky's intonation brings fleeting frissons, but far from enough to deter one from having and enjoying this most expressively played and well-recorded disc.JD