Edward Elgar: Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85
Ralph Vaughan Williams [David Matthews]: Dark Pastoral for cello and orchestra

This, I believe, is the first commercial recording of Japanese cellist Dai Miyata who, since the age of nine, has won all competitions he's entered. And as the booklet notes point out, he also won the Grand Prix in the 9th Rostropovich Cello Competition in 2009, becoming the first Japanese competitor to win the top prize of the world's most prestigious competition.

I'm usually a bit skeptical of constant winners, since adjudicating panels are easily swayed by impressive technique alone. But in Miyata's case, what's most impressive are his attention to expressive details, and highly flexible control over dynamics. And if there ever was a cello concerto in which evocative playing trumps technique, the Elgar Op. 85 is it. Composed immediately following the First World War, it radiates nostalgic melancholy for the loss of a respectable way of life. Miyata's warm lyrical tone within the Adagio movement is admirable, and again here his wide dynamic range with barely audible pianissimos is without parallel.

This world premiere recording of the Ralph Vaughan Williams piece is a perfect choice as a companion work to the Elgar. He had written sketches for a planned Cello Concerto to be performed by Pablo Casals, but it never fully materialized. British composer David Matthews (b. 1943) was commissioned to complete and orchestrate its slow movement, and the outcome was aptly titled Dark Pastoral for cello and orchestra. And as the title suggests it evokes lachrymose bucolic imagery, and like the Elgar, requires emotive playing from the cellist. And if you really want to witness Miyata's aforementioned barely audible pianissimo whispers, you have to hear the mysterious farewell he applies to the final notes. Breathtakingly mournful!