Britten flawed????? - Britten s Violin Voncerto is spellbinding. Hypnotic. For one of the reviewers to call it flawed means he must go to Suffolk, sit on the shingle beach, listen to the seagulls on a grey cold day. This is one of Britten s most awe-inspiring works. The last pages would bring tears to your eyes. Walton, a 2nd rate wife-beater doesn t even bear comparison. One of, if not the greatest violin concertos of the 20th Century. Vengerov is superb in his reading, and only challenged by Nadia Grumlikova, a recording to die for. Avoid Ida Haendel s ghastly scraping like the plague. But don t die without listening to this stupendous concerto.
Vengerov is astonishing in two almost-great concertos - It helps to own the company. If EMI weren t a British-owned label, I doubt that two dyed-in-the-wodka Russians would have taken up Britten and Walton. How tremendous for us that they did. The Britten Violin Concerto is not a totally secure work. The opening movement is mysterious and haunting, one of the greatest things from this period in Britten s career. But even though a prodigy, he was sitll searching for his unique voice, and the slow movement and finale fall back too often on the musuclar modernist idiom of the Thirites, a style more suited to the bluff macho Walton (who hated Britten) than his younger contemporary. However flawed the work may be, Vengerov gives the Britten the performance of a lifetime, with sympathetic accompaniment from his musical godfther Rostropovich and wonderful sonics from EMI. You are reminded again and again (as every audience is when Vengerov appears in person) that an artist with his gifts comes along once in a generation. Britten s uncertainty is shown in the fact that the concerto has six major changes of mood, often disjointed, but when he arrives at the most inspired ones, Vengerov makes this sound like music of genius.The Walton Viola Concerto is musically a safer, less original work. It played and recorded much moe often, however, because of hte scarcity of viola concertos. Purists may dislike Vengerov s fairly slow, ruminative first movement, and compared to the breathtaking tone of his violin, this viola sounds less striking. Even so, he brings his talent to bear with real expression and commitment. I don t think one should listen to all 64 min. of this CD at one sitting--the idioms are too similar in their muscularity and free-form shape. Also, neither work is immediately easy to absorb. In all, a triumph for Vengerov. I won t return often to the Walton, but his Britten is indispensable--it redeems a neglected, near-great work.
Mindblowing! - This CD has been hyped to the gills by the Classical Music press, and for a change the hype is absolutely merited. Vengerov s touch is absolutely perfect, bringing every subtlety of tone from his instruments. The Britten is ravishing, especially the finale, but the Walton is what really makes this recording stand out. It s difficult to believe Vengerov only learned to play the viola for this piece. His tone is by turns heart-meltingly warm and heart-breakingly mournful, and I can only hope it helps give this Viola Concerto more recognition for the masterpiece it is.Rostropovich s conducting is also masterful.
Mesmerized by Vengerov s Britten - Britten s violin concerto is right up there with the two Shostakovich violin concerti, and perhaps even better than they. There are indeed traces of the early and more daring Shostakovich in this work, but it is Britten s original genius throughout. In fact the work s premiere in 1940 caught much of the music establishment by surprise, since it was not the kind of music one would expect to hear coming from a 25 year-old who had a reputation of composing relatively lightweight works. Vengerov gives a riveting performance. The first movement is darkly haunting: harrowing might even be a better term. Vengerov sucks the marrow out of this work, he is relentless. At the same time, his compatriot Rostropovitch plays the paternal role and gives the orchestra gentle, masterful guidance. The work ends, and one wonders: was this Schnittke? No, for in fact the work was composed when Schnittke was still a young child. Yet even in 1939 Britten had tapped into that dark rhizome of raw nerves that was later to so marvelously spread itself throughout the chamber music of Schnittke.Walton s concerto for viola, though of a distinctly different flavor, is nonetheless on a par with most or all of Walton s other orchestral works: sophisticated, highly polished, modern, offering both style and substance. The work is of course in a more serious vein than one might be accustomed to hearing in Walton. And although it does not approach the pinnacle of Britten s concerto, it stands on its own as a strong and evocative work.
Okay recording of Walton - Vengerov plays the viola concerto pretty well, although it is a little too slow for my taste. Of all recordings of the Walton Viola Concerto, Paul Neubauer s is by far the best. He has a superb sense of musicality and style for the piece. His bow control is something to strive for.