Customer Reviews

Haydn: Violin Concertos

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I was not very familiar with Haydn's violin concertos but I am tremendously enjoying this album. Haydn's violin concertos are perhaps not frequently played in concert halls nor recorded by already-established violinists and it is a pleasure to hear them soloed by a brilliant violinist, Augustin Hadelich. He's brought a whole new character and color into the work and the sound he is creating especially in the slow Adagio sections is exquisite. I had the opportunity to hear him live earlier this year and it was truly the most unforgettable musical experience of my life. His virtuosity was astonishing but I was most moved by the incredible depth of his music making. He seems to have the special ability to touch the very core of music and tell us the story of the music in a unique, inspiring way. His playing does remind me of Arthur Grumiaux because of the sincerity and nobility of the sound. And like Grumiaux, Hadelich's playing is about the music not about himself. I think many people can feel that in this album.

Haydn: Violin Concertos

There are four surviving violin concertos by Haydn, on this CD we have nos 1,3 and 4. The soloist is the 24 year old Augustin Hadelich making what is probably his first recording, accompanied by the strings of the Cologne Chamber Orchestra, Naxos' "house orchestra", which has made very many fine recordings.
The concertos were probably written for Luigi Tomasini, the leader of Haydn's orchestra, and the early performances would have been directed by Haydn from the harpsichord. As this is a modern interpretation the harpsichord has a minor role, and there is plenty of bow pressure on the strings and plenty of vibrato, in fact too much in a few very short passages in the slow movements. But overall soloist and orchestra combine well and have produced a very fine recording of these virtuoso works.
I have the recent re-releases on Australian Eloquence of two of these concertos played by Arthur Grumiaux, THE violinist of the middle of the 20th century; Grumiaux was superb playing Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven. To say that Hadeldich is almost as good is praise indeed.
I can easily forgive a little wobbley vibrato, made up for by an otherwise fine performance, the excellent sound, and the bargain price.

A feeling of joy, song and musicianship pervades this recording of the Haydn violin concertos by the young violinist Augustin Hadelich (b. 1984). Hadelich is a German violinist, born in Italy, who studied at Juilliard and won the 2006 International Violin Competition in Indianapolis. Hadelich has had a painful journey to artistic success. In 1999, at the age of 15, his bowing arm and face were badly burned in a fire at his home. After what surely was a difficult rehabilitation process Hadelich began to play again in 2001. In this, his first recording, Hadelich plays with the Cologne Chamber Orchestra conducted by Helmut Muller-Bruhl. The recording includes Hadelich's own cadenzas for each of the three concertos. The recording is available individually and as part of a six CD set on Naxos of the complete Haydn concertos with the Cologne Chamber Orchestra and Muller-Bruhl as part of a series of Haydn compilations that commemorate the 200th anniversary of the composer's death (1732 - 1809).

Following a January, 2009, recital at the Kennedy Center, Anne Midgette of the Washington Post wrote that "Augustin Hadelich is in touch with the sunny side of the violin." She wrote further that Hadelich "conveys a sense that music is worthwhile; and his sunniness derives, perhaps, from bearing talent like a gift rather than a weight upon his shoulders." With their sunny, cheerful character, these three concertos are ideal works for Hadelich. His performances on this CD confirm Midgette's insight into his special gift.

Haydn's three violin concertos are early works, written in the 1760s at the outset of his long service to the Esterhazy family. These works were written in for a small chamber orchestra in a Baroque style. They should not be confused with or judged by subsequent classical or romantic developments of the concerto form. The concertos in C and A major were written to showcase the talents of the concertmaster at Esterhazy, Luigi Tomasini. They are cheerful, radiant pieces in which the soloist alternates with the strings accompanied here by a prominent harpsichord continuo.

The outer movements of concerto in C major features wide leaps in the solo part, double stops, frequent ornamentation and trills, and high notes. Typically, the orchestra and the soloist take turns stating and embellishing the themes. The second movement of this concerto, marked adagio, shows a radiant and songlike expressiveness. It consists of a lengthy slow theme played by the violin over a plucked accompaniment in the lower strings. It reminded me of a serenade or of a florid aria from an early Italian opera.

The A major concerto begins with a more elaborate and virtuosic opening movement which again features extensive double stops and the use of the upper ranges of the violin. It features a lengthy development section in which the violin plays lyrically over the continuo. Again, the highlight of this early work is the songlike, expressive second movement. After an orchestral introduction, the violin plays a lyrical theme which continues to roll out in long, flowing phrases.
A lively, difficult allegro replete with double stops and long chains of rapid-fire bowing concludes the work.

The final work on this CD, the concerto in G major, appears to be an earlier work than its companions and lacks their virtuosity and brilliance. The violin part is relatively uncomplicated and the music routine. The orchestra tends to be given the leading role in this concerto with the violin generally following in its steps and echoing its themes. The work includes an extensive slow movement but overall is of substantially less interest than the C and A major concertos.

I am attaching links to Hadelich's two subsequent recordings of solo music for the violin, including a release issued within the past month. With his enthusiastic, joyful playing, Hadelich is an artist to be watched.

Robin Friedman
Telemann: Twelve Fantasies for Solo Violin
Flying Solo

Augustin Hadelich, born in Italy in 1984 and winner of the Gold Medal at an international violin competition in 2006, is clearly a rising star among modern violinists. So far, his recordings of Telemann's solo violin fantasies and on this CD of Haydn's violin concerti reveal Hadelich as an 18th C specialist of a new 21st C style, playing on a modern fiddle set-up yet performing in a "historically informed" style, with great sensitivity to the structures and affect of baroque/rococo music. His recording of the twelve Telemann fantasies is exemplary in every way. Thus I expected a lot from this recording of the three Violin Concertos of Haydn, and Hadelich doesn't disappoint me. But the Cologne Chamber Orchestra is a sorry mismatch for Hadelich's HIP manner, a mid-20th C sound, all rumbly and thick and utterly unaware of 18th C phrasing. One has to wonder if Hadelich and his orchestra were playing in the same palace. Do it again, Augustin, but with a different back-up band!

These pieces are not the height of Haydn's compositional inventiveness, but Hadelich's performances are make even an ordinary score vivacious. Keep an eye out as he comes out with other recordings: they will, as this one does, be very much worth your time and interest.

This is a beautiful recording of exceptional violin playing. I am not a huge fan of Haydn but listing to Hadelich play is a wonderful experience he is a master.