LALO: CELLO CONCERTO IN D MINOR; SAINT-SAENS:...

LALO: CELLO CONCERTO IN D MINOR; SAINT-SAENS: CELLO CONCERTO NO. 2. Lynn Harrell, cello; Riccardo Chailly conducting the Radio-Symphonie-Orchester-Berlin. London Compact Disc 414387. LALO: “SYMPHONIE ESPAGNOLE.” BERLIOZ: “REVERIE.” Itzhak Perlman, violin. Daniel Barenboim conducting Orchestre de Paris. Deutsche Grammophon Compact Disc 400032. LALO: “SYMPHONIE ESPAGNOLE.” SARASATE: “ZIGEUNERWEISEN.” Anne-Sophie Mutter, violin. Seiji Ozawa conducting the Orchestra National de France. Angel/EMI Compact Disc CDC 7 47318. Harrell’s virtuosity is in full force, eschewing the necessary sweetness that tempers Lalo’s bitterness. It is a powerful performance (coupled with Saint-Saens’ Cello Concerto, it is a superior buy). Violinist Perlman finds the lyricism necessary to the five-movement “Symphonie Espagnole,” the work that for decades kept Lalo from obscurity. Mutter displays the virtuosity that has made her celebrated, but she lacks the intensity the music desperately needs.