I’ve not been as enthusiastic an admirer of the Brothers
Capuçon
as some in the critical fraternity but this release by Renaud Capuçon
is attractive. There have been some parlous recordings of K364 in recent times
- the Vengerov/Power, for example, was a casualty of the former’s metrical
eccentricities - but when musicians are attuned, expressively and tonally, then
things can turn out well.
There is here none of the drooping insistence that marred that earlier recording.
Instead we have a lithe modern instrument chamber sized performance led by a
conductor - as Vengerov’s should have been - whose views are in close accord
with the two soloists. The wind writing is pencilled in adeptly, the horn harmonies
are not muddied, the lower strings articulate cleanly, and the Mannheim crescendo
gathers unstoppable pace and here and there the two soloists - Antoine Tamesitt
is the accomplished violist - play with well calibrated rubati. Once or twice
- this is a matter of taste - I found those stretchy rubatos just a shade overdone
but it’s a moot point as to whether you consider this mannered. The slow
movement has a discreet expressivity; it’s not over emoted but its more
tragic depths and implications are not entirely elided either, though things
remain slightly on the cool side. I liked the way the urgent orchestral string
staccati animate the finale and the way the soloists’s accents nudge the
music still forward. Do I detect that Tamesitt locates something close to explicit
desperation in the closing pages before the resurgent end? He certainly draws
out some fluctuating emotional responses throughout in a way that makes one think.
The G major concerto is the principal companion, the earlier B flat major being
a lesser work. The Third Concerto here receives a reading of interesting emphasis,
especially orchestrally speaking, There are some trenchant unison orchestral
attacks, and a strong bass line, though maybe that’s to do with mike placement;
it could hardly be to do with numbers. In general I find the recording somewhat
problematic for this reason. Capuçon is an elegant soloist, making no
outsize gestures, though he does espouse the cadenzas of Robert Levin. That for
the first movement overdoes the ‘pathetic’ element I think and the
slow movement is too self consciously elliptical for my tastes. If it ain’t
broke, gentlemen …
Still the soloist gives us some highly diverting leaps in the finale as well
as pronounced dynamic variance in the central movement. Levin’s cadenzas
in the First concerto are altogether less contentious. I genuinely like the aria-like
pointing in the slow movement - Louis Langrée seemingly having something
of a gift for subtly altering one’s perceptions without injuring the conception
of a work. There’s some dashing and fast bowing in this concerto’s
finale.
The band has a track record on disc with Mozart concertos, having partnered violinist
Oscar Shumsky, and in K364 his son Eric.
These are enjoyable, thought-provoking performances, played with assurance and
estimable ensemble virtues. Limitations are the recording and a generally on-the-cool-side
approach.
Jonathan Woolf
see also review by Kevin Sutton (June 2009 Recording of the Month)
Renaud Capuçon (violin);
Antoine Tamesitt (viola) 
