Violin Concerto in D minor (1940) [37:50]
Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975)
String Quartet No. 7, Op. 108 (1960) [11:43]
String Quartet No. 8, Op. 110 (1960) [19:52]
James Ehnes (violin)
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra/Mark Wigglesworth
Ehnes Quartet (James Ehnes (violin), Amy Schwartz Moretti (violin), Richard O’Neill (viola), Robert deMaine (cello))
rec. November 2013 Arts Centre, Hamer Hall, Melbourne, Australia (Khachaturian), July 2013, Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall, Benaroya Hall, Seattle, USA (Shostakovich)
ONYX 4121 [69:36]
Onyx here offer us a snapshot of the work of James Ehnes the talented
Canadian concert violinist - one of the foremost violinists of his generation
who in recent years I have seen play in concert half a dozen times at
Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall.
A Soviet citizen for the majority of his life, Khachaturian was proud
of his national heritage and this often shows in his use of Armenian folk
inspired themes. Khachaturian’s Violin Concerto is often given a
poor press I guess for the trivial nature of its themes and the lack of
emotional depth in his writing. The score was quickly composed during
the summer of 1940 at his country home in Staraya Ruza. Bearing a dedication
to his friend David Oistrakh who gave the premiere in Moscow the violin
concerto won the Stalin Prize in 1941. Crammed with memorable melody,
rhythmic energy and vivid colour this is a most appealing score that deserves
to be heard more often.
Substantial and highly tuneful, the opening Allegro is boldly played here
with plenty of rhythmic vitality. Providing a splendid contrast to the
outer movements the central Andante with its gorgeous main theme radiates
intense poignancy and felt far more affecting than I had expected. Ehnes’
urgent and energetic finale is full of gypsy spirit and freshness without
feeling too sweet-toothed. This is one of the finest digital versions
of the concerto I have heard and the support from the Melbourne Symphony
Orchestra under Mark Wigglesworth is warm and persuasive.
In three linked movements the String Quartet No. 7 is the shortest of
all Shostakovich’s quartets lasting here just under twelve minutes.
He dedicated the score to the memory his wife Nina Varzarin who had died
in 1954. A feeling of searching and spinning suffuses the biting opening
movement but I didn’t quite feel the impression “lightly
grotesque” as described in the notes. Gravely sad and serving
as a lament the central Lento evokes bleakness and austerity. Anger and
frustration characterise the playing in the closing movement which is
vigorous and furious. Around point 2:27 the mood begins to shift becoming
quieter and calmer with an melancholic undertow.
In spite of its prevailing sadness the String Quartet No. 8 remains a
highly popular choice for quartets. Designed in five connected movements
this is performed more often than all of the other fourteen string quartets
in total. Sometimes referred to as the ‘Dresden Quartet’ it
is not difficult to imagine the work as a depiction of the ruined city
of Dresden, destroyed by Allied bombers dropping high-explosive bombs
and incendiary devices in February 1945. In 1960 Shostakovich had been
working near Dresden on the score for the Soviet film ‘Five Days
- Five Nights’; a film about the destruction of Dresden and it was
there he wrote the quartet. Playing with real concentration the Ehnes
Quartet proves an understanding interpreter able to maintain the required
intensity of melancholy. I especially relished the wonderful yet short
Allegro molto, played with considerable spring and with an outlandish
rather grotesque klezmer-like feel. The following Allegretto has the unsettling
character of a haunted waltz. My steadfast guide in the set of fifteen
Shostakovich string quartets is the Emerson Quartet recorded in 1994/99
at Aspen, Colorado on Deutsche Grammophon. Although not a full time quartet
the Ehnes provides splendid performances coming some way to matching the
Emerson’s excellence.
The Onyx engineers have provided pleasingly clear sound. In the concerto
for my taste the violin could have been just a touch further forward.
This rather unusual mix of concerto and chamber music only serves to increase
the desirability of this release.
Michael Cookson
Masterwork Index: Shostakovich
string quartets
Support
us financially by purchasing this from |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |