RECORD REVIEW

Concertos are not typically conductor’s material, but the Beethoven Triple is something of an exception. A noble, quirky amalgam of chamber music and orchestral display, it needs--and seldom gets--a controlling, central vision.

The version recorded by Edward Heath and the Trio Zingara a year ago, and recently released on compact disc (IMP Classics, PCD 917), would seem to represent Heath’s vision, although the Zingarans certainly make a cohesive collective protagonist. It is a warm, often fuzzy account that is also frequently excitable and exciting.

In the expansive first movement, Heath and the hired-gun English Chamber Orchestra make much recourse to that hallowed practice of so many English politicians--and not a few conductors--muddling through. Orchestral textures are murky and transitions accomplished in abrupt lurches.

Come the singing Largo and all is well, stabilized under the patrician influence of cellist Felix Schmidt. From there it is a blithe step into the Rondo alla Polacca, much more sharply defined rhythmically. Heath balances and paces the proceedings nicely.

Led by the indomitable lyricism of Schmidt, the soloists give an integrated, purposeful account of their work. Violinist Elizabeth Layton has her tremulous solo moments, but combines with founder-pianist Annette Cole and Schmidt in uniformly phrased ensemble.

The odd pairing on this none-too-generous disc--just under 56 minutes--is the Cello Concerto in G by Boccherini. Schmidt delivers its Rococo blandishments suavely, soaring pristinely in the high registers and providing his own incongruously knotty cadenzas. Heath and the ECO accompany with tidy energy.