Joseph Joachim; Johannes Brahms - Violin Concertos (Rachel Barton)

Information

Composer: Joseph Joachim; Johannes Brahms

CD1:

1. Joachim - Violin Concerto No. 2 in D minor "in ungarischer Weise", Op. 11: I. Allegro un poco maestoso
2. Joachim - Violin Concerto No. 2 in D minor "in ungarischer Weise", Op. 11: II. Romanze. Andante
3. Joachim - Violin Concerto No. 2 in D minor "in ungarischer Weise", Op. 11: III. Finale alla Zingara. Allegro con spirito

CD2:

1. Brahms - Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77: I. Allegro non troppo -
2. Brahms - Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77: Cadenza by Joseph Joachim - end
3. Brahms - Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77: II. Adagio
4. Brahms - Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77: III. Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo vivace
5. Brahms - Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77: Cadenza by Rachel Barton - end of first movement

Rachel Barton, violin
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Carlos Kalmar, conductor

Date: 2003
Label: Cedille
http://www.cedillerecords.org/albums/brahms-joachim-violin-concertos

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Review

Outstanding playing from the soloist in an intriguing coupling of Brahms and Joachim

In 1861, 17 years before Brahms produced his masterpiece in the genre, Joseph Joachim as a young virtuoso wrote his D minor Violin Concerto, In the Hungarian Style. He would later help to perfect the solo part of his friend’s work, but in his own concerto the solo part is if anything even more formidable, one reason – suggested in the New Grove Dictionary – that it has fallen out of the repertory.

It makes a pointful coupling to have both works in a two-for-the-price-of-one package, even if the sheer memorability of the Brahms inevitably shows up Joachim. This account of the Brahms starts unpromisingly with a stodgy account of the long opening tutti, with lacklustre playing from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Carlos Kalmar.

But then, the moment the soloist enters, the atmosphere is instantly transformed, for Rachel Barton is have a magnetically imaginative artist, spontaneously expressive in her rubato, who makes every phrase sound fresh. Technically, too, she shows complete mastery; I am not surprised to find her using at the end of the movement her own formidably demanding and expansive cadenza. The disc then includes as a bonus track the usual Joachim cadenza leading into the lovely tender coda, though the listing on my review disc has the alternative cadenzas labelled the wrong way round. The slow movement with its long orchestral introduction and oboe solo follows a similar pattern to the first, square and unimaginative until the solo violin enters, when all is transformed. The finale is vigorous and sparkling.

In the Joachim Concerto – even longer than the Brahms – Barton is just as compelling, fiery in the bravura passages, tenderly expressive in the many lyrical moments, with the Hungarian flavour idiomatically brought out in her shaping of phrases and pointing of rhythm, not least in the Hungarian dance of the finale, precursor of Brahms’s Hungarian-flavoured finale. A version by Elmar Oliveira, although out of the catalogue at the moment, has warmer, stronger orchestral playing, the LPO under Leon Botstein, but a consistently less compelling contribution from the soloist.

-- Edward Greenfield, Gramophone

More reviews:
ClassicsToday  ARTISTIC QUALITY: 10 / SOUND QUALITY: 10
BBC Music Magazine  PERFORMANCE: **** / SOUND: ****
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2005/Feb05/Joachim_Brahms.htm
http://www.classicalcdreview.com/barton.html
http://www.allmusic.com/album/brahms-joachim-violin-concertos-mw0001942502
http://www.amazon.com/Brahms-Joachim-Violin-Concertos-Joseph/dp/B00009KUAM

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Joseph Joachim (28 June 1831 – 15 August 1907) was a Hungarian violinist, conductor, composer and teacher. A close collaborator of Johannes Brahms, he is widely regarded as one of the most significant violinists of the 19th century. A number of Joachim's composer colleagues, including Schumann, Brahms, Bruch, and Dvořák, composed concerti with Joachim in mind, many of which entered the standard repertory. His own compositions, 14 with opus numbers, are less well known. Joachim's notable students included Leopold Auer (teacher of Mischa Elman, Jascha Heifetz and Nathan Milstein) and Jenő Hubay.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Joachim

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Johannes Brahms (7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer and pianist. In his lifetime, Brahms's popularity and influence were considerable. Brahms composed for symphony orchestra, chamber ensembles, piano, organ, and voice and chorus. Many of his works have become staples of the modern concert repertoire. An uncompromising perfectionist, Brahms destroyed some of his works and left others unpublished. Brahms is often considered both a traditionalist and an innovator. His music is firmly rooted in the structures and compositional techniques of the Classical masters, with a highly romantic nature embedded within.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Brahms

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Rachel Barton Pine (born October 11, 1974 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American violinist. Her principal teachers were Roland and Almita Vamos of the Music Institute of Chicago. Barton debuted with the Chicago Symphony at the age of 10 and attained notable success in a number of violin competitions. She tours worldwide as a soloist with prestigious orchestras and renowned conductors, has an active recording career. Barton has recorded for Cedille, Dorian, Warner, Avie, Hyperion, Hänssler and Naxos. Her musical interests extend well beyond classical to baroque, folk, Celtic, rock, and jazz.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Barton_Pine

http://rachelbartonpine.com

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