Beethoven's Violin Concerto
Beethoven's Violin Concerto
Gramophone Choice
Beethoven Violin Concerto Brahms Violin Concerto
Jascha Heifetz (vn) NBC Symphony Orchestra / Arturo Toscanini; Boston Symphony Orchestra / Serge Koussevitzky
Naxos Historical mono 8 110936 (77' · AAD) Recorded 1939, 1940. Buy from Amazon
‘An old diamond in the rough’ is how Robert C Marsh (Toscanini and the Art of Orchestra Performance; London: 1956) recalled the original Victor 78s of this 1940 Heifetz Studio 8-H recording of the Beet hoven. Of the LP reissue he wrote: ‘On the whole, the recording is so dead and artificial that at times the thin line of violin sound reminds one of something from the golden age of Thomas Edison’s tinfoil cylinder rather than 1940.’ Early CD transfers suggested that all wasn’t lost but even they barely anticipated the extraordinary fineness of the sound we now have on this transfer by archivist and restorer Mark Obert-Thorn.
The performance itself is one of the most remarkable the gramophone has ever given us. The visionary, high-tessitura violin writing is realised by Heifetz with a technical surety which is indistinguishable, in the final analysis, from his sense of the work as one of Beethoven’s most sublime explorations of that world (in Schiller’s phrase) ‘above the stars where He must dwell’. Those who would query the ‘depth’ of Heifetz’s reading miss this point entirely. To adapt Oscar Wilde, it is they who are in the gutter, Heifetz who is looking at the stars.
Toscanini’s contribution, too, is masterly. Now that we can actually hear the performance, the orchestral tuttis seem beautifully balanced both within themselves and vis-à-vis the soloist. As for the actual accompaniment, it’s discreet and self-effacing, fiery yet refined, and always wondrously subtle.
In the case of the Brahms, it’s more reasonable to argue that there are other ways of playing the concerto. Heifetz’s isn’t a Romantic reading. It’s lean, athletic, classical, aristocratic, finely drawn, an approach which wears exceptionally well on record. The Brahms enjoys another impeccable transfer. Musically and technically, this is a real thoroughbred of a release, unignorable at any price.
Additional Recommendations
Violin Concerto. Romances Nos 1 & 2
Christian Tetzlaff (vn) Tonhalle Orchestra, Zürich / David Zinman
Arte Nova 82876 76994-2 (56’ · DDD) Buy from Amazon
This superb Beethoven disc from Christian Tetzlaff is a real winner. The main stumbling-block on so many rival recordings of this work is a sort of romantic reverence, a trend challenged by Zehetmair, Kremer and others – and now Tetzlaff. For all its many moments of profound repose, Beethoven’s Violin Concerto is a forthright, heroic piece, with boldly militaristic first-movement tutti and a rollicking finale which Tetzlaff invests with numerous added colours.
Following on the heels of Zehetmair, Kremer and Schneiderhan, Tetzlaff performs the violin version of the cadenza that Beethoven wrote for his piano transcription of the work, a playful excursion and a snug fit for his overall interpretation. Tempi are brisk without hurrying, the slow movement has an unruffled serenity and a lively added cadenza in the finale helps accentuate the pervading sense of play. Excellent booklet-notes explain the work’s genesis and the basic drift of Tetzlaff’s approach, and the two Romances that complete the programme are performed with the same chaste lyricism.
Beethoven Violin Concerto Mendelssohn Violin Concerto
Itzhak Perlman (vn) Philharmonia Orchestra / Carlo Maria Giulini; bLondon Symphony Orchestra / André Previn
EMI 965923-2 (73' · ADD/DDD) Recorded 1972, 1980. Buy from Amazon
This is a very distinguished performance, as much from Giulini as from Perlman. Early on Giulini makes clear the importance of recognising the difference between forte and fortissimo in Beethoven – for example the ff of bars 73 and 74 and the f which surrounds them; and the marvellous way he gets the Philharmonia to play sfp is a pleasure in itself. The liquid smoothness of the winds is another joy.
The slow movement has the utmost calm beauty from both soloist and orchestra, while Perlman plays the finale at an admirably swift speed, yet with all the flexibility it needs, so that it really dances lightly. The clarity of the orchestral texture is outstanding too. The bassoon, for example, sings its solos in the finale easily and without the least forcing.
Violin Concerto. Romances Nos 1 & 2
Gidon Kremer (vn) Chamber Orchestra of Europe / Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Warner Elatus 0927 49773-2 (57' · DDD) Recorded live 1992. Buy from Amazon
Gidon Kremer offers one of his most commanding performances, both polished and full of flair, magnetically spontaneous from first to last. Rarely do you hear such consistently pure tone in this work and the orchestral writing too is superbly realised. It has become customary to treat the long first movement as expansively as possible but Kremer takes a more urgent view, and after his thoughtful and dedicated, slightly understated reading of the slow movement, he and Harnoncourt round the performance off magically with a finale that skips along the more infectiously thanks to light, clean articulation and textures. Traditional performances seem heavyweight by comparison. The controversial point for some will be the cadenza in the first movement where he uses a transcription of the big cadenza Beethoven wrote for his piano arrangement of the work. However, this is a refreshing version of the concerto, backed up by crisp, unsentimental readings of the two Romances.
Beethoven Violin Concerto Mendelssohn Violin Concerto
Yehudi Menuhin (vn) Philharmonia Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra / Wilhelm Furtwängler
EMI Great Recordings of the Century mono 566975-2 (71' · ADD). Recorded 1952-53. Buy from Amazon
Furtwängler and Menuhin recorded the Beethoven Concerto on two occasions and this second version has an extraordinary quality of spirituality and profundity. Furtwängler’s conducting of the opening tutti has a magnificently arresting, weighty quality, and Menuhin’s response, profound and rich in recreative imagination, shows the two great artists in perfect accord. Their account of this movement is on the largest scale, yet they convey Beethoven’s vision in a humane, approachable fashion. The slow movement has a highly concentrated yet serene character, with Menuhin’s rapt, singing tone achieving rare eloquence, and the finale is superbly balanced, with an affecting sense of a shared, joyful experience. The recording sounds quite similar to the original LP issue, but the quality is quite acceptable.
The Mendelssohn was recorded a year earlier, and here remastering has brought a slight roughening in an orchestral sound which was never very ingratiating, though the defect isn’t serious. Menuhin and Furtwängler float the first movement in an unhurriedly serene, elegantly shaped fashion. In the slow movement they achieve a touchingly tender, almost innocent quality and the finale, taken at a moderate tempo, has lightness and an appealingly eager character.
Beethoven Violin Concerto Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto
Bronisπaw Huberman (vn) Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra / George Szell; Staatskapelle Berlin / William Steinberg
Naxos Historical mono 8 110903 (67' · AAD) Recorded 1934, 1928. Buy from Amazon
Bronisπaw Huberman was an idealist, an ardent Pan-European and co-founder (with William Steinberg) of the Israel Philharmonic. He was, in a sense, the prototype for such present-day fiddling mavericks as Kremer, Zehetmair, Tetzlaff and Kennedy. Huberman’s open letter to Wilhelm Furtwängler, in which he pledged support of the persecuted and refused to perform in Nazi Germany, has become famous, and his astringent though frequently dazzling playing translates that steely resolve into musical terms.
This Naxos coupling is very nearly the answer to a prayer. Huberman’s interpretation is more in line with, say, Zehetmair and Brüggen than the stately readings of Kreisler, Szigeti, Menuhin or David Oistrakh. His lively speeds and darting inflections spin silver beams where others opt for (for some misplaced) ‘Olympian’ heights. The luminosity of the reading, its radiance and refusal to dawdle, run counter to the languid sweetness favoured by various of his peers and successors.
The 1929 Tchaikovsky recording is peerless. Huberman’s first entry reveals all: elastic phrasing, sweeping portamentos and generous rubato stamp a giant personality. Thereafter, quicksilver bowing and a steely spiccato level with the best of the period. Brahms loved Huberman’s playing (he promised the budding youngster a Fantasy but never lived to compose it), and no wonder, given the veiled beauty of his tone (Canzonetta) and the uninhibited swagger of his bravura style (finale).
You simply have to hear Huberman’s recording, and Naxos’s give-away price makes it a mandatory purchase. However, the transfer of the Beethoven, although perfectly adequate, is rather spoiled by excessive digital noise reduction. On one occasion in the first movement, the violinist momentarily disappears; in the second movement two chords inadvertently become one. But these technical reservations will likely prove trifling for anyone who has never heard Huberman before.
Violin Concerto. Romances Nos 1 & 2
Zehetmair (vn) Orchestra of the 18th Century / Brüggen
Philips download 462 123-2PH (54' · DDD) Buy from Amazon
This is a great performance, one that simply has to be heard. The use of period instruments adds extra fibre to the aural mix, and Brüggen’s conducting has a pressing urgency about it that, again, intensifies the drama. Limited availability on CD.
