Philip Glass - Violin Concerto No. 2; Violin Sonata (Piotr Plawner)

Information

Composer: Philip Glass

• (01) Violin Concerto No. 2 "The American Four Seasons"
• (09) Violin Sonata

Piotr Plawner, violin
Gerardo Vila, piano
Bern Chamber Orchestra
Philippe Bach, conductor

Date: 2020
Label: Naxos
https://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.559865

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Review

Subtitled American Four Seasons, Glass’s Violin Concerto No 2 deviates from Vivaldi’s well-known work in that each movement avoids portraying a specific season. Glass’s concerto in fact represents the changing conditions and shifting cycles that occur within the seasons rather than inherent differences that exist between them.

Whether the composer was making some general point about seasonal fluctuations as a result of climate change is unclear. What is certain is that there is little let-up for the soloist during the concerto’s eight movements, which contain four unaccompanied movements for violin (a prologue followed by three ‘songs’) alternating with four more or-less conventional movements featuring soloist, string orchestra and keyboard accompaniment.

Previous recordings by Gidon Kremer and Robert McDuffie (for whom the concerto was written) illustrate just how varied interpretative approaches to Glass’s music can be. Kremer’s recording inhabits two very different worlds within a single performance – withdrawn and introverted in the soliloquy-like solo movements while taking on a much warmer and engaging persona when the orchestra joins in. McDuffie’s approach, on the other hand, is more ‘literal’. In general he allows the music to speak for itself, although his performance increases in dramatic intensity.

Piotr Plawner’s performance lies somewhere in between the two, so in many respects one gets the best of both worlds. He adds some rubato in the Prologue but does not ‘point out’ the melody in quite the way that Kremer does. Supported by the Berner Kammerorchester’s unobtrusive accompaniment, Plawner’s fluidity of line in the first movement echoes McDuffie’s. Plawner applies plenty of snap and intensity to the third while impressively combining speed and skill in the fourth. However, in general his rendition is somewhat conservative. What is gained in beauty and clarity of tone is rather lost during those moments that demand a gritter, edgier sound.

Plawner’s approach works to his advantage in the Violin Sonata, where the second movement calls out for an expressive tone and elegant line, and the funky final movement a lighter, more carefree touch. This is a fine performance, as is the concerto, but I’d recommend checking out the Kremer and McDuffie recordings too, for comparison.

-- Pwyll ap Siôn, Gramophone

More reviews:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2020/Feb/Glass_VC2_8559865.html
https://www.allmusic.com/album/philip-glass-violin-concerto-no-2-american-four-seasons-violin-sonata-mw0003342348
https://www.naxos.com/reviews/reviewslist.asp?catalogueid=8.559865&languageid=EN#307497

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Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the late 20th century. Glass's compositions have been described as minimal music, similar to other "minimalist" composers such as Steve Reich and Terry Riley, but Glass has described himself instead as a composer of "music with repetitive structures". He has written numerous operas and musical theatre works, eleven symphonies, eleven concertos, seven string quartets and various other chamber music, and film scores. Three of his film scores have been nominated for Academy Awards.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Glass
http://philipglass.com/

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Born in 1974 in Lodz, Poland, Piotr Plawner began studying the violin at the age of six. He was the first prize winner of not less than five international violin competitions, including the ARD Competition in Munich. Yehudi Menuhin described him as a violinist with "phenomenal ability". Plawner has performed as a soloist all over Europe, in the Middle East and the United States, at many famous venues, and with major orchestras and conductors. His repertoire includes works from Baroque to contemporary music, particularly less well known, rarely performed pieces, and the work of Polish composers.
http://piotrplawner.com/

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