Customer Reviews

Beethoven & Mendelssohn: Violin Concertos

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So far, I've heard the Beethoven Violin Concerto recordings of Heifetz/Toscanini, Milstein/Steinberg, Szeryng/Haitink, Heifetz/Munch, Sziegeti/Walter and Jamie Laredo. While I personally think that the Milstein is a remarkable asthetic jewel, the Menuhin/Furtwangler of the Beethoven Violin Concerto, Op. 61, is an incredible achievement. Truly, a monumental performance and collaboration. While Menuhin attacks and stretches his amazing virtuosity, together with Furtwangler and the Philarmonia Orchestra, they glorify Beethoven's concerto. And, their Mendelssohn with the Berliner Philharmoniker is equally beautiful.

If you love this work you won't want this recording out of your collection, even though arguably both men have an even finer performance in the catalogue: a live performance from 1947 on Music & Arts. But that performance has inferior sound--the violin almost disappears at times--while this one sounds remarkably fine for 1953. WF is on an unmatched spiritual plane here, leading the Philharmonia (NOT the Berlin Philharmonic as some reviews mistakenly say) in a communion. While Menuhin is possibly a bit more "ruddy" than in the 1948 M&A performance, he's still in fine form overall, even if he drops a note here and there and has the occasional slight intonation problem. This is Beethoven with a life that so few performers give him today, as they're too busy fretting over whether they are rending the text exactly "as Beethoven intended," rather than just living the music. Along with Chung/Tennstedt, Schneiderhan/Jochum, the aforementioned 1948 M&A (which is my top-drawer recommendation, but the sound is poor), Stern/Bernstein (especially for the wonderful handling of the cadenzas), and Zehetmair, Bruggen (HIP) for the stunningly fresh take, this is one of the must-own LvB Violin Concerti on record. Notice I didn't mention Heifetz, because I always feel he's more concerned with his own virtuosity than with Beethoven's music. I know that's not the popular view, but I've never been convinced by his recordings. But the reader need have no fear with the present release, which is superb in every way.

Alright, Menuhin sometimes has trouble with intonation, and his technique is not nearly as flexible and seamless as Heifetz's. But who cares, when the interpretations are this insightful, and the playing almost uniformly beautiful? As always with the German romantics, Furtwangler is wonderful. He goes right to the spiritual heart of the Beethoven concerto, and the Mendelssohn is almost too passionate. Menuhin and Furtwangler were philosophical soul-mates, so it is to be expected that they mesh together well. Menuhin certainly doesn't dissapoint. The Philharmonia Orchestra does very well with the Beethoven, with great depth and weight of sonority, and the Berlin Philharmonic, Furtwangler's right hand as he said, is phenomenal in the Mendelssohn. The Beethoven has truly excellent mono sound, and although the sound is occasionally congested in the Mendelssohn, it is still more than tolerable.

To sum up, if you cannot stand even the slightest imperfections in performance, then this might not be for you; I suggest Heifetz's recording. But if you don't mind the occasional slip as long as it is worth the spiritual wisdom you gain, then this is unbeatable.

In the Beethoven, reviewers here consistently prefer the live 1947 radio broadcast from the Lucerne Festival over this 1953 studio recording from London. I'm not sure the choice is that clear, however, until one knows the salient details.

Lucerne 1947: Historically, this is a touching momento of Menuhin's decision to appear with Furtwangler soon after the war, at a time when the conductor's de-Nazification was slow and painful. Menuhin's gesture helped to rehabilitate Furtwangler in circles that had condemned him, and this Beethoven concerto performance shows how musically sympathetic the two artists were. Menuhin is placed far forward in Lucerne, his tone bright and at times shrill but nonetheless warm enough to listen to without wincing. His technique is adequate to the piece but no more.

Furtwangler gives almost an identical accompaniment in both recordings, although the Lucerne Festival Orchestra is notably less polished than the Philharmonia in the studio. Sonics are good radio mono. Tempos are the same in both recordings except for the slow movement, which is 2 min. slower in Lucerne. Menuhin opens the finale firmly and in tune.

1953 London: This studio recording is in quite good mono for its day, and the Philharmonia sounds especially warm and inviting. One notes a metallic edge in both orchestra and soloist at loud volumes (I haven't heard the latest remastering, which might have solved this problem). Menuhin's technique is no longer adequate to the part, though his interpretation hasn't changed in six years. He is quite out of tune beginning the finale, with gravelly tone on the G string. In both performances his approach is cautious rather than free and rhapsodic.

Furtwangler's accompaniment has great depth and lyric flow, without the drama he is capable of in Beethoven, however. It's often said that he felt constrained in the studio and freer in concert, but in this case both accounts are quite similar.

After all is said and done, the difference isn't so much interpretive but technical--Menuhin had slipped too far by 1953, at least to this listener.

The final and most important question is whether these are deeply felt and noble performances. Surprisingly, I didn't find them so this time around, but I did ten years ago. Subjectivity plays a crucial part in the role of the listener. I can sympathize with people who feel ennobled by these readings even though they have dimmed for me.

The Mendelssohn concerto from 1953 isn't an afterthought. This was always one of Menuhin's best pieces, and here he preforms it with moderate tempos and the kind of personal expression perfectly matched to Furtwangler's own. There are more mercurial readings but few as emotionally sympathetic.

I first encountered this recording in a blue box of LPs imported from Germany by Odeon; simply entitled "Furtwangler", the box contains Beethoven's 3rd and 5th symphonies in the Vienna Philharmonic studio version; the Bayreuth version of the 9th; and the Emperor Concerto with Edwin Fischer and the Violin Concerto with Menuhin, both with the Philharmonia. The set was reprocessed by German Electrola in "Breitklang", which was a "space-opening" technology just this side of fake stereo. For at least a year I listened to the Menuhin record without much feeling one way or the other. Then one day I flipped the "mono" switch on my amplifier. All of a sudden, the fake "noise" that infected Menuhin's tone was gone, and there was his remarkable, sweet, luminous tone, a rare sound that shines from the inside. I was enthralled. I listened spellbound to one of the most personal, communicative renditions of this great piece I'd ever heard.

This is a lovely rendition, a bit more detached than the earlier Luzerne collaboration of these two great artists, perhaps less passionate but with a compensating spiritual depth. Menuhin may not have been the virtuoso he was 7 years earlier, but he still had most of his technique and sound intact. Yes, there are intonation problems, especially in the opening of the first movement. But we are a far distance from the Menuhin who sounded like he was struggling, with persistent intonation, bowing and phrasing problems and a tone which sounded increasing frayed. He might not be here the incandescent light he had been; but he was still a major artist with a deep spiritual insight into this piece and enough technique to bring it off.

Furtwanger, of course, is marvellous. Each phrase is lovingly and plastically molded, the overall structure and balance of the piece is always evident, each part fits inexorably into the whole, and all is at the service of his unique, spiritual (there's that word again) insight. The Philharmonia sounds like his own.

Rating this performance against the Luzerne version is like rating Furtwangler's late-life VPO/BPO studio recordings of Beethoven symphonies against his war-years radio broadcasts. The latter versions of both are more passionate, white-hot, intense; the former are a bit more removed, not without passion or feeling but with a more balanced perspective. Each version has its place, each offers its own unique insight. Each is worth listening to. Each is, in its own way, an essential recording.

You may hear this piece performed differently; you will never hear it performed better.

This is certainly a good recording of the Beethoven, and Furt's accompaniment is at times nothing short of stunning. But whereas Menuhin is merely good here, he is absolutely sublime in his earlier recording in Lucerne (also with Furt), which is now available on Testament. The EMI recording is cheapter, obviously, but don't let that mislead you: the Testament would be a bargain at any price.

Well, Mr. Adam from Sidney and Mr. Williams from Manteca, I'm really disappointed with both of you, especially if you supposed to be the classical music experts! First of all, let me tell you that it is just a matter of taste. I have more than a dozen of Beethoven's violin concerto recordings, yes including Mr. Francescatti's version, and I still say that Yehudi Menuhin's version with Furtwangler is the very best! It is still the most powerfull reading of this sublime concerto. I certainly can understand if you say that Menuhin's interpretation does not fit your taste, but claiming that it is overated or stay away from Menuhin's recordings from the 50's are absolutely garbage and nonsense! Please spend some more years listening to classical music before sending in any more comments!

The thirteenth-century poet Rumi wrote that "the voice of the violin is the sound of the opening gate of paradise." I was swept away by this classic recording of the Beethoven and Mendelssohn violin concertos by Yehudi Menuhin and Wilhelm Furtwangler conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra in the Beethoven and the Berlin Philharmonic in the Mendelsshon. This disk is a reissue on the "Great Recordings of the Century" series. The recordings date from 1953.

Wilhelm Furtwangler was one of the last of the romantic conductors. His tempos in these concertos are deliberate and fluid and the orchestral sound is lush. He recorded the Beethoven concerto with Menuhin in 1947 and again, on the version given here, in 1953. The first version emphasizes the lyrical, gracious character of the work. The version here is more reserved, emphasizing the spiritual, lofty character that many listeners find in the Beethoven violin concerto.

The Beethoven concerto is remarkable for its breadth and spaciousness and for the opportunity it accords for interplay between orchestra and soloist. The orchestral part is unusually detailed and elaborate and much of the violin part, especially in the opening movement, is filigree and embroidery in the highest register of the instrument around the orchestral themes. There are beautiful melodies in this work together with dramatic passages. In the first movement, the new listener should focus on how the opening five-beats of the tympani come to pervade the entire movement. The second movement is a theme and variations with two deeply-moving and reflective interludes for the violin. For many listeners, this movement is the climax of the entire work. The third movement is a lively rondo, more unbuttoned than the first two movements, with a great deal of variety and a lively coda.

Joseph Joachim, the 19th century violinist who championed both the Beethoven and the Mendelssohn concertos, among many others, said in 1906 (celebrating his 75th birthday) that "the greatest, the most uncompromising" of the violin concerto's was Beethoven's but that "the most inward, the heart's jewel" is Mendelssohn's". Furtwangler and Menuin's rendition of this most-frequently played of the violin concertos brought Joachim's words home for me.

Unlike the Beethoven concerto, the soloist is almost always at the center of attention in the Mendelssohn. Menuhin plays with lyricism and passion -- this work is much more than a series of pretty tunes. The orchestral part is detailed and developed, if subordinate to the soloist, and Furtwangler and the Berlin Philharmonic are equal partners to Menuhin's playing. This work is in three connected movements. In the opening, the new listener should focus on the long cadenza for the violin which Mendelssohn places following the development rather than in its usual place before the coda. The transition passages between the first and the second movement and the second and the third also are of great importance in this work. The second movement consists of a long songlike theme and the third movement is a light Mendelssohn scherzo. The performance here brings out the depths of this concerto.

This modestly-priced CD is an ideal way for the new listener to get to know two masterpieces for the violin concerto -- and two of the great works of music. The quotations I used earlier in the review are taken from the discussion of the Beethoven and Mendelssohn concertos in Michal Steinberg's book, "The Concerto: A Listener's Guide." Listeners interested in exploring the concerto literature will enjoy reading Steinberg's book.

Robin Friedman

There seems to be some competition here between this one and the Milstein. I started out with the latter and was not disappointed, but I could hardly compare it with any other because it was the only one I had ever heard. Being 'forced' (this has to do with the reviews here) to take a look at Menuhin/Furtwangler I can now say that this combo blows away Milstein in _some_ aspects, which means that you should own them both.

Even though, I listen more to Menuhin. I'm going to quote 'A music fan from Northcoast, USA' here, who wrote, the Menuhin/Furtwangler of the Beethoven Violin Concerto, Op. 61, is an incredible achievement. Truly, a monumental performance and collaboration'. I couldn't phrase it better, which has probably to do with me being a foreigner.

This must be taken with the 1947 recording of Beethoven's Violin Concerto althouth I would prefer the earlier one. However the performance is excellent, the chemistry between Furtwangler and Menuhin no less convincing and the excellent performances of the imortal Romances and the Mendleshohn Violin Concerto make a splendid etition to any collectors list.

M. Lynch