Customer Reviews

Beethoven, Mozart: Violin Concertos / Schneiderhan, Jochum

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This disc is one of the highlights of DG's Originals series, and indeed of the entire classical catalog. This is the finest recording ever of Beethoven's Violin Concerto. Jochum's elegant, beautifully phrased introduction sets a high standard, but there is no deviation from it throughout the performance. Schneiderhan's tone is gorgeous throughout his register, but particularly in the highest reaches, where he produces a wonderfully pure, silvery tone. One of his greatest strengths is his legato in the highest reaches of his range, which is especially important in this concerto. Beethoven wrote it with a violinist in mind, Franz Clement, who had many of the same strengths as Schneiderhan. Schneiderhan's phrasing and singing line in the first movement is glorious, and the expressive, elegant atmosphere he and Jochum create is amazing. Schneiderhan uses his own adaptation of the cadenzas from Beethoven's arrangement of this concerto for piano. This is a controversial choice, but I think it works fine. The slow movement's stillness and lyricism have never been so clearly and compellingly conveyed as they are under Jochum and Schneiderhan. The phrasing of the themes is, again, particularly wonderful: passionate, expressive and simply gorgeous. The finale's playfulness, good humor and rhythmic drive set it apart from all other performances. Just to pick one highlight of it: Schneiderhan phrases and plays the gorgeous subsidiary theme at 4:18 with extraordinary beauty and passion. An indispensable performance.

The Mozart, with Schneiderhan both playing and conducting, is not quite as good, due to Schneiderhan's style and sound, which I think are better suited for later repertoire than Mozart. Comparison with Grumiaux's magnificent performances on Philips only strengthens my impression. Grumiaux has a purer sound and a cleaner style which, in my view, are better suited for Mozart than Schneiderhan's. Still, this is a very fine, even excellent performance, benefiting from the glorious phrasing that makes the Beethoven such a great performance.

This disc is a member of the tiny, elite group of unchallenged classics that are the foundations of every classical recording collection. It is mind boggling that the Mutter/Karajan recording was chosen over this performance of the Beethoven for DG's Complete Beethoven Edition, but I'm glad that DG looked past the Karajan PR people and issued this, fabulously remastered (not that the sound needed much work), in their Originals series. I can't say enough positive things about this recording. Enjoy!

Many may find S. Mozart a bit romantic. But the mainwork here is Beethoven. Beethoven composed this concerto with a particular violinist in mind. This violinist was an expert in high singing notes and a pure tone. Fortunetly this is also S. speciality. The concert comes of very charming. Jochum is perfect and S. arrangement of the piano cadenza is brilliant. The slow movement is breathtaking and the third crisp and clear. I've heard some versions where the orchestra gets it at Jochums level but never heard S. level.

This is not only for the Beethoven fans but for all who want to get their hands on a quality performance of a high quality composition. No wonder that this is in the "Originals".

This is a special realization, and no mistake!

We're so used to hearing the Kreisler cadenzas in Beethoven's Violin Concerto, that Schneiderhan's reworking of Beethoven's adaptation for piano strikes us as stunning.

This is an unusual thing: Beethoven prepared a piano version for his unique Violin Concerto.
Since Beethoven did not write the cadenzas for the violin version--(he did, however, write the piano version out)--Schneiderhan has re-adapted the piano version for violin usage.

How does it work? Odd--but it does work!
And the strangeness could disappear with familiarity.

I was directed to this recording by the recent one of Patricia Kopatchinskaja and Herreweghe (Naïve, Beethoven: Complete Works for Violin & Orchestra) and by Kremer's with Harnoncourt from 1992 (Ludwig van Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61 / Romance in G major, Op. 40 / Romance in F major, Op. 50 - Gidon Kremer / Chamber Orchestra of Europe / Nikolaus Harnoncourt, see my reviews of both). Both use Beethoven's cadenzas, rather than the customary ones by Kreisler or Joachim, or even Schnittke's, like Kremer had done on his earlier recording with Marriner (Violinkonzert/Violinromanze Nr).

Now, Beethoven did NOT write any cadenzas for his Violin Concerto. The Concerto was composed in haste, for a benefit concert given on December 23, 1806 for fiddler, conductor and composer Franz Clément, and Beethoven entrusted the cadenzas to Clément's compositional or improvisatory abilities.

But then, Beethoven did write cadenzas, not for the Concerto itself, but for the reworking he did of it in form of a Piano Concerto, opus 61a. And these cadenzas are pretty outlandish, among other reasons because the first one uses the timpani, and because there are 4 of them: the two customary ones in the first movement and the finale, then two smaller ones at the end of the slow movement (that one is sometimes played in "straight" versions) and a little after 2 minutes into the finale. Beethoven's piano writing is also pretty wild, of the appasionnata kind

So Kremer and Kopatchinskaja went back to these cadenzas. Of course, one fiddle with its double and triple stops can't emulate the polyphonic wealth of the piano. Kremer's solution to that was to have a fortepiano play from the wings, transmitted through loudspeakers, and to share and exchange Beethoven's melodic line with it. Not very "historically-informed", and pretty jarring. As for Kopatchinskaja, she resorted to voice-over rerecording. That again was interesting, but not entirely convincing. The clashes of tonality, the sheer effort of playing Beethoven's virtuosic piano runs made it sound, at times, more contemporary than the cadenza written by Schnittke!

But as I was researching on the cadenzas, I realized that Kremer wasn't the first to have returned to Beethoven's cadenzas from opus 61a. Apparently the first to have done so was Wolfgang Schneiderhan, in this very recording, made in 1962 with Eugen Jochum and his second after the one from 1953 with Paul van Kempen (reissued in DG's Schneiderhan box, The 1950s Concerto Recordings [Box Set]).

Schneiderhan's solution is much simpler and more direct than Kremer's and Kopatchinskja's. He rewrites the cadenza, finding solutions (with a few minor cuts in the first) that are playable by a single violin. His adaptation is clever and tasteful, and the result is, quite frankly, much more convincing and sounds much more genuine than Kremer's and Kopatchinskaja's. With him you can believe for a second that Beethoven could have written those cadenzas, not with them. Schneiderhan/Beethoven's cadenzas deserves more currency, alongside Kreisler's and Joachim's.

So his cadenzas are the main originality of this version. Other than that, it is a good version that falls short of being truly exceptional. Jochum - whom one of my recent friends whose judgment I don't necessarily share but respect highly considers a drudge - is here a sympathetic accompanist, with tempos in the opening "Allegro ma non tropppo" that are more flowing than the norm of those days but never rushed, giving a nice, winged aspect to the opening movement (although he doesn't really sustain the opening tempo in the course of the development), and he gives a fine bite and muscularity to the orchestra, and in the finale the woodwinds and horns play with all the required crispness. But, without being sour, Schneiderhan's tonal production lacks the luminosity that the best violinists bring to bear - Francescatti (Beethoven, Sibelius: Violin Concertos) and Suk (Beethoven: Violin Concerto, Romances / Suk, Boult, Marriner) among those I've heard recently - or the juiciness of Kremer. His 16th note runs also lack the last degree of abandon and dynamism, I find. They sound slightly labored. On the other hand and despite these considerations of tonal production, the central Larghetto is better than good, more a Largo than a Larghetto as has been the norm ever since Kreisler with Blech in 1926 (actually Schneiderhan's timing here is exactly the same as Kreisler's, Fritz Kreisler Early Recordings), and with a fine subdued and meditative flavor brought both by the soloist and Berlin's silky and hushed strings. The finale again is taken at a very moderate tempo and the movement's dance pulse is treated by Schneiderhan with more nobility's elegance and restraint than peasantry's rambunctiousness. And why not. The sonics are good and clear, with almost imperceptible tape hiss, without offering exceptional orchestral presence either.

This recording was had a prior CD reissue on a DG budget label ("Resonance"), paired with the two Romances by Oistrakh and Goossens (Beethoven: Violin Concerto; Romances 1 & 2). These are now available in a more coherent and useful all-Oistrakh collection (David Oistrakh) on DG's "The Originals" series. The new pairing on this "The Originals" release is Mozart's Turkish Concerto (VC No. 5 K 219), played and conducted by Schneiderhan, a recording made in 1967, and originally paired with VC No. 4 K 218 (the CD's booklet nicely reproduces the cover of that and of the original Beethoven LP). I have no particular expertise on that composition and will therefore not risk an interpretive comment. I'll simply hoard it for some elusive "later".

What I liked about the Beethoven is the way the orchestra under Jochum's direction has more than just a secondary role. The parts where the soloist is not playing do not just sound like background interludes, but take on a more integral part of the work. Schneiderhan plays with a beautiful tone throughout, and shares Jochum's concept of the music.

However, I do not care for the cadenza Schneiderhan uses. I tried very hard to listen with an open mind, and at first I found the changes to be refreshingly different. But before long, they became distracting and disrupted the flow of the music. So for me, this recording will not displace Menuhin/Furtwangler, Francescatti/Walter, or Heifetz/Munch. Still, it's worth hearing as an alternate version, and the recorded sound is outstanding, easily surpassing any of the three recordings mentioned above.

This is _the_ best recording of the Beethoven Violin concerto that I've heard out of the seven recordings I own, and the numerous versions I've heard. If you do not own a copy of this concerto, you should get this one first, as it is simply amazing. Although I prefer other cadenzas to the one Schneiderhan has chosen, he still plays it wonderfully. If you do not wish to get this recording, then a close second to this Beethoven would be the Francescatti/Walter disk.

As for the Mozart, Schneiderhan's sound production doesn't equal what he did in the Beethoven. If you're buying the CD for the Mozart, I highly suggest otherwise. The Grumiaux recording of this has pretty much been considered the baseline standard for all other recordings. Personally, I'm a fan of the Perlman recording as well as the Stern.

Overall, this CD is amazing for its Beethoven concerto, with an acceptable Mozart. Although the Beethoven is top-class, better recordings of the Mozart can be found.

Wolfgang Schneiderhan delivers an excellent performance on the Beethoven Violin Concerto and a good performance on the Mozart Violin Concerto. This is one of the best performances of the Beethoven Violin Concerto out there, and is well worth the money. The Mozart 5th is a nice bonus, and is equally good, though I purchased this CD primarily for the excellent Beethoven Concerto.

The Berliner Philharmoniker is one of the best orchetsras in the world (in my opinion), and Jochum's excellent conducting skills compliment the skills of the orchestra perfectly.

My favorite conductor George Szell never recorded the Beethoven Violn Concerto, but he did record the Mozart Violin Concerto and I would compare the Szell recording very favorable to this one, though I prefer Schneiderhan over Isaac Stern for soloist.

David Oistrakh gets many rave reviews for his many performances of the Beethoven Violin Concerto, but Schneiderhan is my favorite, primarily for his Cadenza selections. There are also two versions of the Beethoven Violin Concerto with Bruno Walter as conductor that are worth listening to, but one or both of them are out of print.

Quite simply this is one of my primary recommendations for a definitive recording of Beethoven's Violin Concerto; the other, Perlman's classic account with Giulini conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra. However, unlike the Perlman/Giulini recording, this is blessed with exceptional lyricism and sweetness in tone on the part of both violinist Schneiderhan and the Berlin Philharmonic under Jochum's direction. I concur with a previous reviewer who remarked that Schneiderhan's playing is replete with a silvery tone, especially in the higher octaves of the piece; his performance is consistently fine throughout the concerto's three movements, always replete with much lyricism and warmth. Admittedly his choice of cadenza is controversial, but it certainly sounds like a resounding success to the ears of this reviewer. Less successful is Schneiderhan's performance of Mozart's 5th Violin Concerto, which doesn't sound as compelling as his Beethoven; although it is a fine account, it surely ranks second to those I've heard from Frank, Mutter, and especially, Grumiaux. I am delighted that Deustche Grammophon reissued these splendid recordings as part of its "DG Originals" series; the sound quality is excellent.

I'm rather divided on this release. Many people I know claim that this recording is by far the finest performance of the Beethoven Violin Concerto ever recorded and in many ways it is without equal. From the opening bars the solid foundation provided by Jochum's players provides a perfect platform for Schneiderhan to work his magic and be in no doubt his performance is magical, tight and disciplined, passionate and expressive while also being completely secure and confident in both his playing and his interpretation, there's much to like here.

What bothers me though is that Schneiderhan choose to use his own cadenza's based on Beethoven's piano transcription of the Violin Concerto. These cadenzas are very rarely played. In fact off hand I can't think of a single other major artist who has recorded them and with good reason, while they certainly do explore the extreme's of what is possible within the constrictions of the musical structure, for me they represent a rather disjointed and needlessly ostentatious passage. I would not say that this is virtuosity for its own sake, but at times it comes rather close and in my opinion detracts from the magnificence of both Beethoven's score and Schneiderhan's playing.

I suppose that if I was asked to choose I would say that I prefer Schneiderhan's earlier mono recording with Paul Van Kempen, where I believe he uses the Kreisler cadenzas to great effect. But as I listened what I found myself truly missing was the depth, passion, control and the almost stentorian grandeur of Iona Brown's late 1960's recording on the Argo label recording with Willi Boskovsky. Now sadly no longer available, my LP pressing is much loved and often enjoyed and I urge any one looking for the finest recording of this magnificent concerto to seek out a copy either of the original LP or the digitally re-mastered CD of the late 1980's.

The Mozart however I can recommend without any hesitation whatsoever. The magnificence of the playing in the Beethoven concerto is replicated here in a performance that I prefer to any other that I've heard.

Yet despite my misgivings I can't say that I didn't enjoy this CD, the playing is magnificent and there is a true depth of feeling for both pieces, but in my opinion those cadenzas rather spoil the whole.

This is a fantastic performance of the Beethoven concerto. Schneiderhan brings a full share of Viennese grace and passion to the table and his tone is lovely. Jochum conducts very well. However, Jochum is not Furtwangler, which in this case is necessarily a bad thing. The things Furtwangler brought out of this piece I doubt will ever be heard again, because they were parts of his very soul. And how beautiful they were too, flowing and ebbing in perfect proportion. As for the Mozart, this is the best performance I've heard, and I've heard Grumieaux, Spivakov, Mutter, and Perlman. Jochum sounds suspicously like he owned the Mozart 5, though I haven't heard the usual suspects, namely Bohm and Krips, not to mention Furtwangler himself. So here's what I urge you to do: buy this CD along with the 2 widely available versions of the Furtwangler-Menuhin collaboration (the EMI version for the Philharmonia orchestra; the Testament version to hear Furtwangler in his glorious prime, with an unshakable command of the orchestra and Menuhin on a good day to boot). You will love the Schneiderhan-Jochum performance; you will weep before Furtwangler and Menuhin.