Felix Mendelssohn - Concertos for Violin and Piano (Gidon Kremer; Martha Argerich)

Information

Composer: Felix Mendelssohn

• (01) Concerto for Violin, Piano and String Orchestra in D minor
• (04) Concerto for Violin and String Orchestra in D minor

Gidon Kremer, violin
Martha Argerich, piano
Orpheus Chamber Orchestra

Date: 1989
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
https://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en/cat/4273382

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Review

Ronald Thomas's performance of Mendelssohn's youthful Violin Concerto in D minor on Chandos is coupled with one of the early string symphonies (No. 9 in C major); Frank Peter Zimmermann's on EMI is coupled with the much more famous E minor Violin Concerto. Neither version is really recommendable above the new issue: Gidon Kremer gives a fresher, more assured, lighter account of the D minor Concerto than either of the other two, and Zimmermann is, of course, up against a very large number of versions of the E minor Concerto, to several of which most listeners would give preference.

The new coupling is of another interesting work of Mendelssohn's astonishing youth. The score is dated May 6th, 1823, when he was 14 and its precocity shows in various ways. There are the expected influences. In the opening movement, the running counterpoint at the start suggests Mendelssohn's well-learnt lessons from old Zelter (who within the year made his famous declaration welcoming the boy into the brotherhood of Bach Mozart and Haydn). The Adagio has a note of Weber, as does the 'brilliant' finale, though here the pace and dexterity are more vividly in the manner Mendelssohn was already making his own. The precocity also shows in the work's length: he had not yet learnt to temper the abundance of his imagination, and both outer movements are a little long for themselves (they are played here without the cuts sometimes adopted on the work's rare outings). But the imaginative energy and the technical skill are dazzling, and especially when played with the exuberance of the present performance, the piece is enormously enjoyable.

The recording is quite close, and deals skilfully with the problems of balance between the two soloists on the rare occasions when they have not already been brilliantly solved by Mendelssohn.

-- John Warrack, Gramophone

More reviews:
https://www.amazon.com/Concerti-Felix-Mendelssohn/dp/B000001GAJ

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Felix Mendelssohn (3 February 1809 – 4 November 1847) was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. He was among the most popular composers of the Romantic era. Like Mozart, he was recognized early as a musical prodigy. Mendelssohn enjoyed success in Germany, where he revived interest in the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, and in his travels throughout Europe, particularly in Britain, where he visited ten times. His essentially conservative musical tastes, however, set him apart from many of his more adventurous musical contemporaries.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Mendelssohn

***

Gidon Kremer (born 27 February 1947 in Riga) is a Latvian classical violinist, artistic director, and founder of Kremerata Baltica. He studied with Voldemar Sturestep at the Riga School of Music, and from 1965 with David Oistrakh at the Moscow Conservatory. Kremer won first prize at the Paganini Competition and International Tchaikovsky Competition, among others. Composers such as Gubaidulina, Nono and Schnittke have dedicated works to him. He has a large discography on the Deutsche Grammophon label, for which he has recorded since 1978. He has also recorded for Philips, EMI, Decca, ECM and Nonesuch.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gidon_Kremer
http://www.gidonkremer.net

***

Martha Argerich (born June 5, 1941 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine pianist generally considered to be one of the greatest of the second half of the 20th century, although her aversion to the press and publicity has resulted in her remaining out of the limelight for most of her career. Argerich gave her debut concert at the age of 8 and made her first commercial recording in 1960. Argerich rose to international prominence when she won the seventh International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 1965, at age 24. She is noted for her bravura technique and the raw energy of her interpretations.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_Argerich

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

FLAC, tracks

Links in comment

Enjoy!