Customer Reviews

Brahms & Joachim Violin Concertos

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

 

 

The Brahms Violin Concerto is one of the most over recorded works in the violin repertoire. It is hard to imagine another recording could have anything to add. But this is exactly what Rachel Barton, Carlos Kalmar, and the Chicago Symphony have done.

Barton brings an extremely personal musical voice to the Brahms. In the over 30 recordings of it I own, there is none like it. However, rather than wondering why she does not approach the Brahms like others, I quickly found myself wondering why others have not interpreted it like she does. From her choice of tempi to her phrasing, her concept of the Brahms is grand, aristocratic and expansive. Barton's playing grabs you from her first note and does not let go. Her tone is huge and her coloring and timing exquisite. She gives us two cadenzas, the Joachim (to fit the concept of the album) and her own (very interesting and enjoyable). Chicago Symphony oboist Alex Klein plays a glorious solo to start the second movement and Barton gives the movement probably the most heavenly performance I have ever heard. Her pacing of the third movement is perfect and the flair and excitement she brings is unmatched.

While I had known of the Joachim "Hungarian" Concerto, I had never actually heard it. This is an incredible work full of catchy melodies that left me humming for hours after hearing it. Had Joachim not been so successful as a violinist and teacher, he surely would have left a profound legacy as a composer. His orchestration is masterful. The technical challenges facing the soloist in the Brahms pale in comparison to those of the Joachim. Barton's performances demonstrate that her technique is limitless and her mastery of the violin unsurpassed. Every passage sounds effortless and the musical line is never lost. This is a wonderful concerto, brilliantly performed, that deserves (and will hopefully receive) much wider recognition.

The sound and the balance between soloist and orchestra Cedille Records has achieved on this recording are amazing. I have never heard better. The Chicago Symphony is in top form. Kalmar shapes the tuttis beautifully and his accompaniment is sensitive. Barton even writes a great set of program notes.

After a series of very fine, but somewhat niche recordings, this album establishes Barton as solidly in the mainstream. I look forward to hearing her interpretation of other "standard" violin repertoire. If this CD is any indication, she will have a long career at the very top of her profession.

History is such a fickle judge. Joachim was a truly great musician, whose powers of orchestration were only exceeded in his lifetime time by Wagner, and whose violin skills were the equal of Liszt'z piano mastery. He tutored Brahms in composition and orchestration, and revered Beethoven's struggle to achieve musical form and meaning. This concerto is arguably the most unjustly neglected violin masterpiece of recent history.
With the sensitive musical support of Kalmar and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Rachel Barton has created a performance of the work which must surely be the standard against which any future performance is judged. From the wonderful opening symphonic tutti in a minor key with Hungarian raised fourth, which gives no hint of the supremacy of the soloist to come, the first movement leads into an extraordinary intimate and dreamlike violin entry, right in the middle register of the instrument. This has the effect of reinforcing the initial impression that the work is conceived as symphonic and the violin is integrally partnered with the orchestra. Gradually, the violin establishes itself as the prime instrument, but never fighting against the larger body. The solist is given sustained difficulties which are never shallow displays, rather the direct statement of Joachim's economy of thought to perfectly ornament the structure of this masterwork.
From the purely hedonistic point of view, this is glorious music, sweet and beautiful, full of themes as attractive and memorable as ever you will hear. The second movement is especially beautiful, particularly the second part of the slow movement theme, and the finale is vibrant with drama and deceptive simplicity.
The more I hear this, the more I realise this is the Opus Magnus of the greatest violinist composer of recent times. Brahms violin concerto is a product of the meeting of minds between Joachim and Brahms, an excellent choice to pair with the Hungarian concerto: comparison of Ms Barton's excellent Brahms with other recordings somehow misses the point of this album. This performance of the Brahms is a grand expression indeed, but it is the relationships and differences between the Brahms and the Joachim concerti that are so beatifully illustrated here.The Brahms is "a struggle between violin and orchestra in which the violin wins"; the Joachim is "a striving together between the orchestra and the violin in which the music wins".
What phenomenal technique and musicianship Ms Barton displays here. Let us hope that her contribution to the recorded legacy continues to dazzle us. This album should be in every musician's collection, and would please every listener who loves the sweet sound of the violin.

No question this top-notch violinist produces a fabulous sound. Her own program notes indicate she acquired the use of a historically apposite del Jesu violin for the lovely Joachim concerto. Nobody would be dissatisfied with this performance of the Brahms concerto, which emphasizes expansive and lingering breadth and depth of the phrases. A grand statement. Some might marginally prefer a little more understatement and more pace, such as the Kogan and Milstein versions, which give silvery qualities. Rachel Barton's performance emphasizes the golden honey qualities. However, the real point of this disc is to compare the Brahms and the Joachim concertos, both are pinnacles of composition by lifelong friends. Joseph Joachim is unjustly neglected as a violinist composer. Pehaps his violinist supremacy has obscured the public awareness of his greatness as a composer, whose compositional skills were perhaps only exceeded by Wagner in his lifetime?
The Joachim concerto is extremely interesting, and exciting. Needs to be played at fairly full volume to get the best out of the ravishing sound and the intimate relationship between the orchestra and the violinist, otherwise the soloist seems to fade into the orchestra at times. According to my knowledge of Joachim's legacy, and Ms Barton's program notes, it seems that this intimate quality is desirable in a great performance of this work. Perhaps that is why it has been unjustly neglected by the great virtuosi since Joachim's passing. Anyone notice the mysteriously underappreciated Aaron Rosand, by the way? (Just a passing comment.)
Ms Barton has impressive self-belief, evident in her notes, and her playing.
I love this disc. Buy it and enjoy, you will continue to gain pleasure from the Joachim with every hearing.

This is a great find if you want a wonderful, neglected masterpiece. Joachim was an excellent composer, though it is hyperbole to suggest he was the equal or better of Brahms as one reviewer here does. Regardless, the coupling of the Joachim with the Brahms concerto is a fitting one given the lengthy friendship of the two composers.

You can undoubtedly find a Brahms recording that suits your tastes more than Barton's if you have a particular predilection, so my rating applies primarily to the Joachim concerto (and for the price, the Brahms is icing on the cake). Joachim's is a long concerto of symphonic proportions and ambitions in which the soloist at long length dictates the ebb and flow, yet never overshadows the orchestra with unnecessary pyrotechnics. The themes are memorable, the architecture fascinating, and the first movement cadenza technically demanding and musical in the manner that Bach's chaccone is. The finale is a bit of a letdown in the sense that it stands alone from the other two movements in tone and temperment. However, one can't fault Joachim for finishing with a virtuouso flourish that's well conceived and orchestrated (and not at all uncharacteristic for a violin concerto of that time period in the first place).

Perhaps Barton isn't the ideal interpretter. Or perhaps she is. Until more soloists record this beast and enter the fray, she deserves the credit for taking a chance on an underperformed masterpiece. I doubt many listyeners will be disappointed by such an ambitious and committed effort.

Since four and a half stars is not an option, I will grudgingly give these recordings four stars. My reservations concern the Brahms, which is one of the most perfect works the composer ever wrote (though violinists gripe because it doesn't let them show off much). I recall reading program notes by a pretty good musician and scholar that even accorded the Violin Concerto the distinction of being the one great work by an otherwise second-rate composer! A minority opinion, certainly.

I find that in the first movement, with its meltingly beautiful second melody, the performers tend to overemphasize, slowing down and caressing the music more than they should. The melody doesn't need any special pleading. The tenderly lyrical opening is also taken rather slowly and lovingly--not a bad thing in itself, but given the emphatic treatment of that second tune, it's all a bit much. The slow movement, too, could use just a tad more forward thrust and less "luxuriating," but the playing here is certainly lovely.

The last movement has all the requisite Gypsy fire, and Rachel Barton plays with great verve and precision, so overall this is a fine performance, though it can't really compete with the very best on CD. On the other hand, the Chicago Symphony is in top form and very well recorded--as fine a bit of orchestral backing as you'll hear in the concerto probably.

I have nothing to compare the performance of the Joachim with, but I can't imagine a better reading of this slightly longwinded and wayward but ultimately appealing work. "Longwinded and wayward" mostly apply to the long, long (almost 27 minutes!) first movement. The second movement has Gypsy longing and lyricism, and the last movement, though not as memorable as the Brahms by half, sounds more like the genuine article. In fact, this Finale alla Zingara, "in the Gypsy style," inspired Brahms to write his popular Hungarian Dances. So Joachim's concerto ends on a strong note even if it doesn't have the stamp of genius that sets Brahms's concerto apart.

Joachim has been praised as a fine orchestrator, and that fact is in evidence here. But even more praised is the violin part--written, after all, by one of the greatest violinists of the 19th century. Though it eschews all display for display's sake, it is thoroughly idiomatic and, according to the notes to this recording, one of the most difficult violin parts in the repertory. Barton doesn't seem to have any problems; again, the playing is beautiful, seemingly effortless. The orchestral backup is first rate.

Because of the extraordinary length of the Joachim concerto, this is a double CD album offered at a single-CD price. As a bonus, the Brahms disc contains Barton's own cadenza to the Concerto first movement. It won't replace the standard Joachim cadenza, but it's an interesting bit of writing, not overly contemporary, not overly show-offish. It would work well in a concert performance of the piece.

So that's it: a very good Brahms performance, a probably definitive Joachim performance, all in fine modern sound.

I only recently (thanks to YouTube) have started listening to Rachel Barton's performances and recordings. Her humongous repertoire and the vast amount of research she has done is very impressive (check out the program notes for the disc that she wrote herself, including notes on the Guarnieri fiddle she used for the recording). This particular CD is of particular value to those of us violinists who are familiar with the Brahms-Joachim musical partnership. They were very much equals as composers and musicians, although Joachim is no longer known outside violinistic circles. The pairing of the two concertos is very welcoming. As far as the music making, Carlos Kalmar does fine with the orchestra. I was lucky enough to see this guy conduct twice, during his candidacy for music director of the Oregon Symphony. His live performances are full of energy and he's made a few other good discs. He is one of the finest working today, that's for sure. All things considered, I think I prefer Aaron Rosand's recording of the Joachim to this one - perhaps because of the 47-minute performing time. Like the Elgar, which usually takes about the same time, the Joachim is just too long unless cuts are made. The Brahms is pretty par-for-the course...nowhere as good as Milstein or Kogan, but Barton's playing pretty much has it all - round tone, superb phrasing, consistently good intonation. Included on a separate track is Barton's own cadenza for the first movement, which has some nice harmonies.

Rachel Barton-Pine has made a name for herself releasing excellently performed musically searching performances of interesting repertoire. Often her CD company Cedille (as here) release the discs in a 2-for-1 price format. Coupling the Brahms with a complete version of the Joachim Hungarian Concerto is excellent programming. Barton-Pine is a big confident player with technique and musicality to spare. Superb production values and an excellent liner completes a model disc

As to the merits of the repertoire being performed on this recording, I am content to defer to the assessments of the previous reviewers: the Brahms concerto is a classic and needs no introduction and the Joachim (arguably the better composer of the two) is a vastly underappreciated masterpiece. These two concerti are absolute necessities for any serious violin enthusiast.

That said, Rachel Barton turns in highly disappointing performances. Ms. Barton is timid, slow and focused on technical perfection to the detriment of musicality -- for example, Perlman's "slow and majestic" first movement of Brahms (including the Joachim Cadenza) was 24 minutes and Ms. Barton weighs in at a little over 30 minutes for the first movement and cadenza -- there's slow (Perlman and Oistrakh) and then there's glacial. The Joachim has similar issues -- Barton is just too afraid to let loose on this one -- which is truly a pity as the combined talents of Barton, Carlos Kalmar and not least the CSO represented a unique opportunity to create an inspiring recording of the Joachim "hungarian" concerto.

In conclusion, this recording justifiably (given the repertoire and musicians involved) received a lot of hype, but fails miserably in living up to that hype. If you need a recording of Joachim (and if you don't have one, believe me, you need one), Aaron Rosand and the Luxembourg Radio Orchestra turn in a vital and passionate performance that puts this record to shame. Similarly, if you're looking for Brahms, allow me to reccommend David Oistrakh or Natan Milstein (or for a more modern flair Hilary Hahn) -- Heifetz also cut a pretty good Brahms, but the usual Heifetz disclaimers apply.

You can get the Rosand Joachim and Oistrakh Brahms for only 3 bucks more put together than the Barton and get quite a few other pieces from these two great violinists in the bargain. Rachel Barton is an amazing talent, the CSO is an amazing orchestra and the guys at Cedille Records do amazing recordings -- it really is a pity that they didn't create something amazing (or at least listenable).