Customer Reviews

Beethoven: Violin Concerto

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

 

 

I wouldn't say that this is my favourite performance of the Beethoven. In fact I have about 10 different performances of this concerto, and if I could morph all 10 into 1 then that would be my ideal. Nevertheless, what I like about this performance is the spaciousness that Mutter gets. Someone once remarked that the first movement of this work is a work of "lofty architecture" and I tend to agree with that description. Mutter's playing is very precise, and wonderful, especially in the high registers. Yes, perhaps there isn't much of her personality in it, but that's the Karjan way IMHO. Nevertheless, it's quite stunning. I often come back to this one, on account of the first movement. It may be slow, but it's quite captivating. Not bad at all for a girl of 16. I certainly recommend it.

This is an intensely beautiful performance of the Beethoven violin concerto, but for those who are criticizing it, it's really Karajan's conception of the piece more than Mutter's so blame or credit should mostly go there. It was recorded in 1980 when Mutter, Karajan's protege, would have been about 16 and wouldn't have had the independence of personality to completely project herself, especially when up against the world's most formidable conductor at the time. Yes, the performance is a bit slow, but not overly so. More than that, the violinist seems almost devoid of personality at times, which has nothing to do with the mature adult she has since become and everything to do with Karajan's conception of the piece; he seems to want it almost as a symphony with violin obligato. She does best in the tender passages where her playing is just about the most radiantly beautiful I've ever heard. But she does show real spark in places. Her playing in the first movement cadenza, where she's on her own, is positively thrilling. It's Karajan's view of the piece that will determine whether people want it. Even though the performance is lush, Karajan brings out elements I had never heard before; his control over the orchestra is absolutely astonishing; this is truly one of the great ORCHESTRAL performance of the piece. For me the highlight is the slow movement; it is the most heartfelt and capital "R" Romantic performances I know. It will either have you crying in your handkerchief, which it does for me, or reaching for the off button. I'm sure Mutter will record this piece again and I'm also sure it will sound NOTHING like this one, just as her recent fiery Brahms concerto with Masur sounds nothing like the calmer one she did many years ago, also with Karajan. I can't wait to hear her new take on it. But I love this recording too.

I have a reasonably large CD and LP collection and have listened to many recordings of many works by various artists. However, if I have to pick my favourite recording of all time it must be this Mutter-Von Karajan recording of Beethoven's violin concerto!

I have mixed feelings about this recording. No one can argue that this has to be one of the slowest versions of the Beethoven concerto currently available. The question is, is this leaden tempo a good thing or not?

On the one hand, the relaxed pace allows Mutter to linger over every note and phrase, bringing more nuance to the music than you could ever expect at a faster tempo. After a few minutes of this, you find yourself thinking, "yeah, this tempo makes sense --- I can live with this." Then the orchestra enters, and you then realize what a horrible idea this tempo really is.

A horrible idea it is indeed, because the orchestra postively lumbers through the music like some large sweaty animal, and destroys all the good work by Mutter that precedes it. It truly is a shame.

Also, the quality of the recording reminds of when I go practice in the bathroom, just for the fun of it. What is with all this echo? It serves to distract more than anything else.

So who is to blame for this? I wouldn't hold against Mutter. Like other reviewers have mentioned, she was only a kid when she recorded this, and thankfully has rid herself over the years of Karajan's malevolent influence. I have heard a couple of Mutter's live versions of the Beethoven, and the tempo is generally much more acceptable.

What we are left with is still more evidence that Karajan's repuation as a conductor is hugely overrated. I simply do not understand how people continue to lionize Herbie when he regularly churned out recordings such as this that sound as though they were churned out by a giant musical robot.

The only reason I didn't rate this lower is because despite the sluggishness of the orchestra, Mutter's performance is at times mesmerizing. I can only thank God that she has continued to mature musically as an artist, and has made Herbie an increasingly distant memory.

You can't quite hear in this Beethoven Violin Concerto, fresh and elegant as it is, why Mutter went on to become the highest-paid soloist in classical music. There's not enough personal voice, as one learns by turning to her later reading, also on DG, with Kurt Masur. There, Mutter has glamoour and style to die for, perhaps too much for Beethoven's lofty musical intentions. Her younger self was simpler and fresher, but both possess dead-on intonation and amazing technical polish.

Whatever Karajan saw in his teenage protegee, he certainly spotted a future star. Condcutor and orchestra supply a masterful accompaniment, the best I've heard since Furtwangler's famous account with Menuhin in the post-war era. In keeping with his young soloist, Karajan keeps the accompaniment light, never overwhelming her. DG has reissued this CD with the same original jacket, I believe, but in newly remastered sound as part of its 2008 tribute to Karajan.

Several reviewers idiotically complain about slow tempos when in fact Mutter and Karajan are not extreme for traditional (i.e., non-period) readings. Perhaps the suaveness of the orchestral textures and Karajan's subtle phrasing make the pace seem slower to some. I found it hypnotic and skilfully managed. The delicate but springy rhythms in the finale were delightful -- this is a hard movement to bring off -- adding to the overall impression of a charismatic if sometimes low-key reading.

Great masters at work - I enjoyed a truly outstanding performance of the work of one of the great classical composers.

I grew up listening to Beethoven's violin concerto played by Issac Stern. When I heard the cadenza played by Mutter 10 years later, I thought to myself, it must have been a piece of music about love! Sure enough, as I found out later, Fitz Kriesler dedicated the music to his wife. It is not a coincident that these four musicians, Beethoven, Kriesler, Mutter and Karajan had the common vision for the theme of this concerto, often thought of as the least virtuosal in terms of technical difficulties. Mutter's playing embodies this piece of German classic music in its utmost magnificence: a choral type of passion weaving inside unhurried pace; a seemingly calm and structured canvas of royal blue dabbled with vermillion red. Listen to the cadanza by itself- it knits together fragments of the composer's loving utter and reiterates it as a heart-wrenching sonnet.

Hermosa versión de concierto para violín de Beethoven. Es una interpretación sumamente "sentida", Mutter toca con tanto sentimiento... y los berlineses matizan en forma espléndida toda la obra. Para mi gusto personal mi versión favorita del concierto es Heifetz con CharlesMunch, que es una interpretación muy distinta, de todos modos ¿Por qué no poder gozar de ambas? Eso es lo hermoso de la música, que cada artista tiene una concepción diferente. Qué aburrido seria que todos sientan igual, ¿Verdad?

Gran compra.

I won't speak in high musical terms to come off as more intelligent for the sake of this essay. I merely listen to classical and enjoy it immensely. This CD is incredible, I have listened to it in it's entirety countless times. It is probably the greatest classical recording I have ever bought. It could be just me, a personal thread maybe, regardless it is a wonderful buy.

This is the most boring Beethoven concerto I've ever heard. Mutter's rhythms are much too slow, and her musical maturity at the time of this recording does not do the Beethoven Concerto justice. This is a recording that lacks musical maturity and excitement. I would highly recommend Perlman's Beethoven Concerto with Guilini over this recording.