Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750)
Partita No. 2 in D minor BWV 1004 for solo violin [32:34]
Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
Violin Sonata in A minor Kreutzer Op. 47 [39:12]
Henryk WIENIAWSKI (1835 - 1880)
Scherzo-Tarantelle Op. 47 [4:38]
Johannes BRAHMS (1833-1897)
Hungarian Dance No. 1 in G minor arr. Joseph Joachim [3:17]
Maxim Vengerov (violin)
Itamar Golan (piano)
rec. live, 5 April 2012, Wigmore Hall, London. DDD
WIGMORE HALL LIVE WHLIVE0056 [79:52]
Maxim Vengerov’s returned to the concert hall
in 2011 after a four year break to recuperate from injury and devote
himself to conducting. This CD preserves his first appearance at the
Wigmore Hall following resumption of his solo violin career. On the
evidence of this performance he has lost little of the magic which had
previously seen him widely acknowledged as the greatest violinist in
the world. All the old sweetness and fire are in evidence. The rich,
sumptuous tone is intact, the intonation is impeccable and the breath-taking
agility remains unimpaired. The best evidence for that is to be found
in the variations of Op. 47 but the whole programme bespeaks Vengerov’s
triumphant return to form.
The programme is ideal, bringing together two German show-pieces for
violin and a wonderful pair of encores, one sparkling and exploiting
the violin’s upper register, the other capitalising on its darker
sonorities. I particularly like the way the mood of the Partita is carried
over into the Kreutzer by the latter’s multiple-stopped
introduction which seems to be both Beethoven’s deliberate homage
to the older master and the harbinger of the arrival of a new voice.
The recording acoustic is a little over-resonant for my taste but this
was, after all, a live concert in the Wigmore Hall and despite the reverberation
details such as the clicking of piano keys and the violinist’s
breathing emerge very clearly. There is no audience noise or applause
but no evidence of any subsequent patching. Vengerov’s long-time
accompanist Itamar Golan is evidently a superb pianist, a worthy partner
to a musician who, on this showing, we may still - or is it once again?
- call “the world’s greatest violinist”.
Ralph Moore
