Richard Wetz: Violin Concerto

Markus Kohler (Performer), Richard Wetz (Composer), Werner Andreas Albert (Conductor), Rheinland-Pfalz Staatsphilharmonie (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Markus Kohler
• Orchestra: Rheinland-Pfalz Staatsphilharmonie
• Conductor: Werner Andreas Albert
• Composer: Richard Wetz
• Audio CD (January 18, 2005)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Cpo Records
• ASIN: B0006SGEVK
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #48,201 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not his best work, but..., July 15, 2007

By 

Neil A. Edwards (Chicago, IL, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Richard Wetz: Violin Concerto (Audio CD)

When I first listened to this CD I was disappointed, but now, after repeated listening, I thoroughly enjoy these pieces. The Violin Concerto does not jump out at the listener with obvious themes, and requires a good deal of concentration to appreciate it. It is this characteristic that causes the piece to require repeated listening, and it is the same characteristic that makes repeated listening so enjoyable for me.

The performances are satisfying, and more than adequate to introduce this music; the same can be said for the recording and engineering.

This CD would provide a poor introduction to the work of Richard Wetz, but it is absolutely not mediocre schlock. The works included on this disk are not as good as his symphonic work, but they are certainly worth the effort taken to record them. I am absolutely thrilled with CPO for introducing me to this heretofore neglected master.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great, yes great, violin concerto, November 28, 2010

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James H. Kramer (Oregon) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Richard Wetz: Violin Concerto (Audio CD)

Richard Wetz (1875 - 1935) was a little-known German composer. He admired Bruckner, and his symphonies are, by most accounts, reminiscent of Bruckner symphonies (I've heard his #3 and I agree). The violin concerto is something else, however. It is a 30-minute one-movement work - with four sections - in which the violin plays almost continuously, with spare orchestral accompaniment. It is rhapsodic and intense, like the expression of a smoldering passion. It does not remind me of Bruckner, but I suspect that it is influenced by Bruckner in the way that the melodies gradually reveal themselves and the mood builds to an ecstatic climax (in the fourth section). Since I obtained this a few months ago I listen to it every week or two, to re-experience its power and to try to understand its secrets. I feel I don't want to listen to it too often, that I must ready myself for it and be strong enough for it. It has enough subtlety and complexity that I suspect I will never tire of it, like an Elgar symphony or the Elgar violin concerto. Obviously I'm crazy about this and expect to continue to love it. It's played perfectly by violinist Ulf Wallin, whom I'd never heard before. He plays in a way that I sometimes find unusual but which seems just right for this.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars enjoyable, April 8, 2008

By 

Gary E. Miller - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Richard Wetz: Violin Concerto (Audio CD)

I read the two previous reviews, one fairly positive, the other fairly negative. I've listened to Wetz's violin concerto several times--and I like it. The themes are attractive and lyrical. Memorable, I don't know. Among my favorite violin concertos are Sibelius's and Prokofiev's first, but I'm not sure I could hum the very attractive melodies. I agree that structure in Wetz's concerto is not readily apparent except for the four general divisions of the one-movement work. The concerto has a rhapsodic character and I find the music attractive and melodic. The composer is obviously skilled in orchestration, as is evident in his three symphonies, and he writes well for the violin soloist. I do like his three symphonies which, although quite original, are obviously greatly influenced by Bruckner. Bruckner's influence is much less evident in the violin concerto. I am not terribly pleased that I find myself enjoying the work of a composer who was a member of the Nazi party, but so be it. (I also enjoy the operas of that proto-Nazi, Richard Wagner.)