Principal cellist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Robert deMaine is one courageous musician. By releasing a new recording of both Cello Concertos by Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) he's figuratively stepping out onto a minefield littered with over 80 extant recordings featuring some of the best cellists, including the likes of Pierre Fournier, Jacqueline Du Pré, Mstislav Rostropovich, Ofra Harnoy, János Starker, Yo-Yo Ma, etc ... to name but a handful. What could he possibly benefit the music that we haven't heard before? Joseph Haydn's Cello Concertos are some of this composer's most popular works, evidenced by the aforementioned high number of recordings. Plus I'm sure these are mandatory pieces that most aspiring cellists sharpen their baby teeth on, and then return to once they are good enough to perform them with the respect they deserve.

Robert deMaine's commanding 'entrée' at the 1:15 mark after being formally introduced by the orchestra in the opening movement of the Cello Concerto No. 1 in C major is a clear indication that he's stepped onto minefields before and knows that the best tactic is not to tiptoe along, but rather to impose your own expressive stamp on a stock piece of music overly familiar to everyone. His lush and ornate tone fits the elegant character of Haydn's music very well, and the variety of projection techniques he employs from the highly cantabile character in the higher registers to the rich and mellow growls in the lower notes is very pleasant to hear. The cadenzas are deMaine originals and actually enhance the music. And for those who enjoy detailed stats, the cello used in this recording is a Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume from 1841 Paris, and sounds splendid.

The only minor quibble I have with this recording is that the orchestra is a bit too sonorous and resonant for 'classical' period pieces, and that smaller forces might have been more adequate for the music at hand. Nonetheless conductor Joel Eric Suben certainly does a fine job of shaping and moulding the orchestral sound around Robert deMaine's excellent interpretations.