Francisco Coll Violin Concerto; Hidd’n Blue; Mural; Four Iberian Miniatures; Aqua Cinerea Patricia Kopatchinskaja (violin); Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra/Gustavo Gimeno Pentatone PTC 5186 951 (CD/SACD) 80:57 mins
Thomas Adès’s pupil Francisco Coll, who has made an impact in so short a space of time, is yet only in his mid-30s. His Violin Concerto’s three movements – ‘Atomised’, ‘Hyperhymnia’ and ‘Phase’ – typify his delight in bringing extremes of expression within often terrifyingly close proximity, and is thrillingly realised by Patricia Kopatchinskaja, who negotiates the work’s coruscating intricacies with ravishing purity and intensity. Far from representing a break from tradition, one can sense at times the cantabile virtuosity of Korngold and the Castelnuovo-Tedesco of I profeti coursing through the music’s veins.
The Luxembourg Philharmonic and Gustavo Gimeno are equally dazzling in the other works, surfing Hidd’n Blue’s textural volatility and sonic piquancy with beguiling ease. Mural, effectively a symphony in five movements, is a roller-coaster of hurtling orchestral on-rushes and cathartic emotional releases, while Four Iberian Miniatures, with Kopatchinskaja at her most effervescently charismatic, is bathed in insouciance and playfulness. To finish, Coll’s Op. 1, Aqua Cinerea, feels like the musical source from which the other works on this outstanding disc appear to flow.
Julian Haylock