Customer Reviews

Beethoven: Violin Concerto / Piano Concerto No. 2

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
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Christian Tetzlaff is a fine young violinist. I had the privilege of hearing him live last year at Alice Tully Hall (Juilliard) performing the six Bach unaccompanied violin pieces. He was quite simply breathtaking. I had never quite heard these pieces played with the beauty and understanding that he brought to them. Hopefully someone someday will record this young genius playing these pieces. In the meantime, we have to make do with the precious little of his playing that is available on disc at the moment. Although the sonics on this album are mediocre at best (the orchestra sounds strangely processed), the performances (at least for the Violin Concerto) are first-rate. Gielen draws a dynamic, visceral performance from the orchestra, and Tetzlaff, while not flashy in the old-school romantic vein, brings his own kind of passion and intelligence to a beautifully executed interpretation. The performance of the piano concerto is quite simply, dull. So what? For [this price] you get Christian Tetzlaff!! This CD should be added to every collection immediately -- whether discovering this work for the first time, or adding to your collection.

Tetzlaff is a fine violinist, and while in this performance, he's hardly the last word in refined tone and intonation, Beethoven's music is all there in bone and flesh. In that way, the performance is a very worthy one: too often, this piece can seem like aimless note spinning or tone production exercises. Not here. Gielen's accompaniment is alert, although there is a wicked tape splice or something at the very opening, which is certainly startling. The sound isn't the last word in audiophile engineering, but it is fine nonetheless.

Whatever you do, however, do not buy this recording for the piano concerto--unless you suffer from insomnia. It is well-played, but dreadfully boring. Given the price, however, who cares, when the violin concerto is so rewarding!

Christian Tetzlaff was only 22 when this live studio recording was made in 1988 (there are no audience noises, however). Now that he is the pre-eminent German violinist after Mutter, one knows what to expect: total command of the instrument, stylistic integrity, amazingly even tonal production, impecable phrasing. Tetzlaff's tone has been a bit reduced by too distant microphone placement, and the SWR orchestra under Gielen sounds tubby (with boomy timpani), but these are minor flaws. This sharp-witted reading is admirably alive, and its faster pacing adds to a fresh, youthful feeling.

Tetzlaff performs Beethoven's long, wandering cadenza in the first movement (composed for the piano transcription the composer made, then refitted for the biolin by Schneiderhan)that incoprorates the main theme on timpani; I found it more intriguing than satisfying. A shorter cadenza appears in the finale. The overall profile of this reading reminds me of Mullova on Philips (but without the period touches in the accompaniment) and both Schneiderhan recordings from fifty years ago on DG. All four are outstanading interpretations that have energy and style in common.

Gielen conducts the Piano Cto. #2 in the same vital spirit, aided by Leonskaja's sympathetic if hardly charismatic pianism.

This CD has been around a long time and these performances have been available on a number of labels. Both performances were recorded at live concerts and the performances are passionate and quite riveting. The Violin Concerto is taken at a very quick pace. It is about 5 minutes faster than most recordings. Unlike many contemporary performances, the music does not get bogged down. The Piano Concerto is also exceptional. However, there are many great 2nd Piano Concerto recordings, even at this low price. For 4 dollars, you cannot go wrong.