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Tag: Brahms

October 10, 2011

Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64

despite not having the stature of the other composers
already considered, Felix Mendelssohn, 1809 – 1847,
nevertheless squeezes right up the middle with his
the greatest violin concertos of all time, perhaps the
most tender of all in contrast to the mightier, more
imperious declamations of the other also more varied
and prolific masters, an archangel among the august
divinities, having earned a place of the very highest
order in their midst with even this one masterful
work, perhaps even of all the most beloved
 
he squeezed right up the middle chronologically as
well in fact, Beethoven wrote his violin concerto in
1806, while Tchaikowsky and Brahms theirs to my
astonishment each from his own little corner of the
world independently in the very same year, 1878,
a fabulous year, it would appear, for violin concertos 
 
Mendelssohn finished his violin concerto in E minor,  
opus 64 in 1844
  
 
when I began a few decades ago to explore violin
concertos, my essential resource was the set I had
on disc of all the great ones played, indeed definitively
executed, by Kyung-Wha Chung, who bested then to
my mind all, without exception, even the most
celebrated virtuosos, whom I need not therefore 
here recall   
 
until now I had never seen her perform 
 
in this outing she recovers in spades my early adulation, 
utterly, she lives and breathes her enchanted instrument,
she is the Mitsuko Uchida of the violin, I can think of no
higher honour, she is meteoric 
 
André Previn and the London Symphony Orchestra, who
accompany her, though accomplished, pale beside her
fire, which is throughout riveting   
 
André Previn was married famously to Mia Farrow way
back when, later married our very own Anne-Sophie
Mutter, though they divorced in 2006, he was a pop,
to my mind, conductor, made of serviceable and
always dependable stuff, but never shining, you’ll
have to leave that to his featured brilliant light here,
who will not, I assure you, fail to deliver searing
heat along with the stated incandescence 
 
 
Richard
 
 
 
 
 
 
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October 9, 2011

Brahms violin concerto in D major, Op.77

though I’d’ve preferred to consider violin concertos for a while
after the Tchaikowsky, the Beethoven, a break from the usual,
though always eminently magisterial, piano, I was unable to
quickly find a performance of the work I had in mind that would
suit my needs, nothing primarily that was complete, that had all 
its unabridged movements
 
and what’s a concerto without its movements, a meal without
an appetizer, without its main course maybe, without even 
dessert, that’s making do, that’s subsisting, that’s got nothing
to do with appreciating a meal, not to mention our pending
Thanksgiving
 
then the Chopin struck, a very revelation, and I couldn’t, even
temporarily, put it aside 
 
I hope you enjoyed it   
 
 
because the Brahms in D major, opus 77, is after the first
two violin concertos I listed the third most revered and 
respected major string work, it cannot but be duly and
with great honour represented in any Classical music 
survey
 
the first movement, the allegro non troppo, or, jauntily but
not too much, in English, is played by David Oistrakh and 
conducted by the legendary Kirill Kondrashin, who conducted
Van Cliburn, famously, in both his Tchaikowsky One and
Rachmaninoff Three concertos in Moscow, 1958, when Cliburn 
won first prize, is he the best, Khrushchev asked when
nervous judges questioned awarding an American, give it
to him then, he most judiciously replied, in the very face
of Cold War bile and cynicism 
 
Kondrashin defected to the West in 1978 
 
David Oistrakh never left his homeland, Russia, though he
toured extensively enough in the West, surely dazzling
everywhere rapt audiences
 
 
the next two movements, the adagio, slow, the allegro 
but not too lively – little by little go faster, have the
glorious Leonard Bernstein jumping up and down even 
with exhilaration at the thrilling sounds they are making,
while the equally glorious Gidon Kremer struts inimitable,
incendiary stuff, a Tchaikowsky competition winner also
he, in 1970, who ‘s since dominated and championed an
impressively extensive and eclectic, even modern, 
repertoire  
 
note in passing that their accompanying Vienna Philharmonic
doesn’t have a single woman, which nevertheless doesn’t 
of course disqualify a superior sound, it is merely an archaic,
intransigeant, aristocratic institution, it would appear, with
a counterintuitively melodious and undeniably winning soul
 
 
one course at one restaurant then, the next two at another,
you’ll need to adjust to atmosphere, menu variations,
service, but expect in either case only the very best, you
will not be disappointed 
 
 
Brahms violin concerto in D major, opus 77
 
              1 – allegro non troppo, Oistrakh, Kondrashin,
                                                          the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
              2 – adagio, Gidon Kremer, Leonard Bernstein, the Vienna Philharmonic
                                                              Kremer, Bernstein,  
                                                    the Vienna Philharmonic again
 
 
Richard 
 
psst: here is an alternate third movement by to me unknowns,
         an exquisite partial repast, perhaps the most impressive
         morsel here    
 
 
 
 
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