RECORDING OF THE MONTH
Camilla Wicks (violin) - Five Decades of Treasured Performances
rec. 1946-95
MUSIC & ARTS CD-1282 [6 CDs: 463:00]
Camilla Wicks was one of a group of elite female violinists
who forged distinguished careers in the mid to late twentieth century. The
names of Ginette Neveu, Johanna Martzy, Ida Haendel and Erica Morini are four
others that immediately spring to mind.
Wicks was born in California in 1928 of Norwegian parentage. Her father was
an eminent violinist and teacher, and her mother played the piano, having
studied with Xaver Scharwenka. Early lessons with her father resulted in a
debut at the age of seven playing the Mozart D major Concerto K 218. Aged
eight she had progressed onto the Bruch and Paganini Concertos. At ten she
went to study at the Juilliard with Louis Persinger, teacher of Menuhin and
Ricci. She also had a year with Henri Temianka. She debuted at Town Hall,
New York in 1942, accompanied by Persinger, and a year later took second prize
in the prestigious Leventritt Competition. Her Carnegie Hall debut came in
1946 with the New York Philharmonic under Artur Rodziński in which she
performed the Sibelius Violin Concerto. The work was to become her calling
card, and she made a commercial recording of it in 1952, now elevated to legendary
status (Biddulph
80218). Sibelius, himself, was very taken by her interpretation, and she
performed it in his presence on the occasion of his eighty-fifth birthday.
Wicks always remained in touch with her roots and, throughout her career,
promoted music by Scandinavian composers. Several wrote works for her including
Bjarne Brustad, Fartein Valen, Hilding Rosenberg, Harald Saeverud and Klaus
Egge. In the 1950s, she abandoned her career, selling her 1725 Duke of Cambridge
Strad, married and raised five children. In the 1960s she resumed playing
in public, with the generous gift of a violin by her friend Ruggiero Ricci,
and became a much sought after teacher. She retired in 2005.
This important tranche of material derives from both the vaults of radio archives
and Wicks' own collection. Her discography is relatively small, amounting
to a single CD from Music and Arts containing live performances of the Beethoven
and Sibelius Concertos, a couple of CDs on the Norwegian Simax label (review
~ review)
and a Biddulph CD. This welcome box set redresses the balance by considerably
expanding her discography. Whilst standard fare constitutes a large proportion,
the inclusion of less well-known composers is a positive bonus.
Of the core repertoire works, CD 1 opens with a rhythmically propulsive account
of the Mendelssohn Concerto from 1949. The conductor is none other than Fritz
Busch, brother of the famous Adolf, another great violinist. Busch mirrors
Wicks’ pushing forward in the first movement. The second subject is
lyrical, and the employment of expressive slides and position changes is a
positive feature of the violinist’s artistry. The second movement is
ardent, and the third boasts a well-articulated line. Although the sound quality
belies its age, the performance is thrilling. The Brahms Concerto from forty-five
years later has to be one of the finest I’ve heard. In the first movement
Wicks employs the Joachim cadenza. The slow movement is eloquently phrased
and, once again, those expressive slides come into play. The finale has energy
and rhythmic bite. Sound quality is more of an issue with the 1953 performance
of the Tchaikovsky Concerto from the Hollywood Bowl. As a performance, I found
it the least successful of the three ‘big’ concertos. I find Steinberg’s
conducting here rather pedestrian, which doesn’t inspire the violinist
to give of her best. The more lyrical sections lack poetry. The fiendishly
tricky double-stop passage in the development section of the first movement
sounds rushed, though the cadenza which follows is technically secure. She
does, however, capture the Russian melancholy of the slow movement. It’s
obvious at the end that the audience don’t share my misgivings. As an
encore she plays Bjarne Brustad’s “Trollkvenna” (“The
Troll’s Windmill”) - fourth movement from Eventyr (Fairytale)
Suite for solo violin, a sort of chromatic roulade with pizzicato thrown in
for good measure. In the Barber Concerto, Wicks’ warm, heartfelt approach
to the composer’s early lyrical style is fitting, whilst the finale
is dashed off with panache and élan.
There’s no doubt, listening to the evidence, that Wicks had a stunning
technique and gives impressive accounts of the nineteenth century virtuoso
violin concertos and showpieces, of which there are many fine examples here.
Both Wieniawski Concertos are included. No. 2, from the Hollywood Bowl with
Leopold Stokowski dates from 1948. The Romance is fervent, and the
third movement has a quicksilver audacity and sparkle, certainly giving Heifetz
a run for his money. The First Concerto has always been my favourite of the
two, though it is less frequently performed and recorded. Michael Rabin made
a magnificent recording of it. Wicks is accompanied on the piano by Horace
Martinez, and the concerto is a splendid vehicle for showcasing her phenomenal
violinistic arsenal. Equally dazzling is Sarasate’s Introduction
and Tarantelle, with orchestra, where there’s some crisply articulated
spiccato passages.
There are glittering accounts of Sarasate’s Zapateado, Malagueña
and Wieniawski’s Scherzo-Tarantelle. Joachim’s arrangement
of Brahms Hungarian Dance No. 7 has swagger and tastefully applied rubato.
The only disappointment is Kreisler’s Tambourin Chinois which
sounds too frenetic. The Schubert Ave Maria, in the arrangement by
August Wilhelmj, is heard in a recording dating from 1960, and the presence
of an audience is confirmed by the odd bronchial contribution. Wicks draws
a rich full-bodied sound from the opening melody on the G string. The treacherous
fingered octaves are delivered with immaculate intonation, and the double-stops
are vibrant. This captivating reading stands comparison in every way to Heifetz’s
three commercial recordings. Ysaÿe’s Third Solo Sonata and the Ravel
Tzigane receive technically stunning readings.
Lyricism is the underlying element in the Beethoven Sonata No. 10 in G Major,
Op. 96, and Wicks conveys the spirit of the work with freshness, spontaneity,
affability and passionate intensity. The Richard Strauss Sonata from the same
1986 recital is a spacious reading of intense drama and lush romantic gestures.
An alternative performance of the slow movement from 1973 is a bonus. The
Debussy Sonata is idiomatic and invested with a wealth of tonal shadings.
Ravel’s Sonata Op. posth. from the same 1991 Houston recital is a pleasing
addition — it’s a work I’ve never heard before. A beautifully
managed performance of Fauré’s Violin Sonata No. 1 in A major, Op.13
from 1985 has some sparkling spiccato bowing in the third movement. Germaine
Tailleferre’s Sonata No. 1, another work new to me, is a luminous account
and a pleasurable listen.
Audio restoration, editing and mastering has been carried out by Ward Marston,
to the usual high standard of Music and Arts. The producer Nathaniel Vallois,
who is Senior Violin Teacher at the Birmingham Conservatoire and also teaches
at the Purcell School of Music, UK, has an interest in historical artists,
and counts Wicks as his mentor. He has provided an excellent nine page comprehensive,
detailed biography, plus a substantial essay on the relationship between the
violinist and the composer Ernest Bloch. An engaging performance of the composer’s
Sonata No. 1 from 1980 is included.
This rewarding release will be welcomed by violin aficionados as providing
a valuable addition to this distinguished artist’s slender discography.
Stephen Greenbank
CD 1 [78:55]
Felix MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY (1809-1847)
Violin Concerto Op.64
Danish State Symphony Orch/Fritz Busch
22 September 1949, Copenhagen
Johannes BRAHMS (1833-1897)
Violin Concerto in D major, Op.77
Norwegian Radio Orchestra/Ari Rasilainen
1994 or 1995
Hungarian Dance No. 7 in A Major (arr. Joachim)
Felix MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY
On Wings of Song, Op. 34, No. 2 (arr. Achron)
Robert Levin (piano)
1950, Norway
Maria Theresia von PARADIS (1759-1824)
Sicilienne (arr. Dushkin)
Horace Martinez (piano)
4 November 1973, Wenatchee, Washington
CD 2 [75:45]
Pyotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)
Violin Concerto in D Major,
Op. 35,
Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra/William Steinberg
Bjarne BRUSTAD (1895-1978)
“Trollkvenna” (“The Troll’s Windmill”) - 4th
movement from Eventyr (Fairytale) Suite for solo violin
18 August 1953, Hollywood Bowl
Henryk WIENIAWSKI (1835-1880)
Violin Concerto No. 2 in D minor, Op. 22
Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra/Leopold Stokowski
14 August 1946
Pablo de SARASATE (1844-1908)
Introduction and Tarantelle, Op. 43
Standard Hour Broadcast
conductor and venue unknown
Samuel BARBER (1910-1981)
Violin Concerto, Op. 14
Stockholm Royal Philharmonic or Symphony Orchestra of Radio Stockholm/Sixten
Ehrling
Date unknown
CD 3 [75:52]
Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
Sonata No. 10 in G Major, Op. 96
Richard STRAUSS (1864-1949)
Sonata in E-flat Major, Op. 18
Martin Katz (piano)
11 February 1986, Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Rackham Auditorium
Sonata in E-flat Major, Op. 18 11 ‘Improvisation’ Andante Cantabile
Horace Martinez (piano)
4 November 1973, Wenatchee, Washington
Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975)
Four Preludes from Op. 34 (arr. Tsiganov)
Martin Katz (piano)
11 February 1986, Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Rackham Auditorium
George GERSHWIN (1898-1937)
Preludes (arr. Heifetz)
Rosalyn Frantz (piano)
1980, Fullerton, California State University
Franz SCHUBERT (1797-1828)
Ave Maria (arr. Wilhelmj)
Horace Martinez (piano)
8 October 1960, Anaheim
CD 4 [77:13]
Ernest CHAUSSON (1856-1899)
Poème, Op. 25
Albert Hirsch (piano)
26 February 1963, Dallas, Texas
Eugène YSAŸE (1858-1931)
Solo Sonata No.3 in D minor ‘Ballade’
1988, Round Top Festival, Texas
Gabriel FAURÉ (1845-1924)
Violin Sonata No. 1 in A major, Op.13
Miles Graber (piano)
24 March 1985, San Francisco
Germaine TAILLEFERRE (1892-1983)
Sonata No. 1
Brian Connelly (piano)
15 October 1990, San Francisco
Joaquin NIN (1879-1949)
Four Spanish Songs (arr. Kochanski)
Martin Katz (piano)
11 February 1986, Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Rackham Auditorium
CD 5 [77:35]
Ernst BLOCH (1880-1959)
Sonata No. 1
Rosalyn Frantz (piano)
1980, Fullerton, California State University
Maurice RAVEL (1875-1937)
Sonata Op. posth.
Claude DEBUSSY (1862-1918)
Violin Sonata
Neal Kurz (piano)
5 April 1991, Rice University, Houston
Belá BARTÓK (1881-1945)
Rhapsody No. 2
Jean Barr (piano)
4 March 1984, ? Eastman
Maurice RAVEL
Tzigane
Albert Hirsch (piano)
26 February 1963, Dallas, Texas
Ingwald WICKS (1892-1967)
Ode to the Desert
Horace Martinez (piano)
4 November 1973, Wenatchee, Washington
CD 6 [79:15]
Edvard GRIEG (1843-1907)
Sonata no.3 in C minor, Op. 45
Robert Levin (piano)
Mov.1 1947
Mov. 2 & 3 ? date
Henryk WIENIAWSKI (1835-1880)
Concerto No.1 in F-sharp minor, Op. 14
Horace Martinez (piano)
8 October 1960, Anaheim
Scherzo-Tarantelle, Op.16
Horace Martinez (piano)
4 November 1973, Wenatchee, Washington
Pablo de SARASATE (1844-1908)
Malagueña
Horace Martinez (piano)
8 October 1960, Anaheim
Zapateado
Rosalyn Frantz (piano)
1980, Fullerton, California State University
Frédéric CHOPIN (1810-1849)
Nocturne in C-sharp minor, Op. posth. (arr. Nathan Milstein)
Horace Martinez (piano)
8 October 1960, Anaheim
Nocturne in D (originally D-flat), Op. 27, No. 2 (arr. Wilhelmj)
1948 ? pianist
Arthur BENJAMIN (1893-1960)
Santo Domingo
1948 ? pianist
Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962)
Tambourin Chinois
Horace Martinez (piano)
8 October 1960, Anaheim
Ioan SCARLATESCU (1872-1922)
Bagatelle
Arthur BENJAMIN
Jamaican Rumba
Michele Cooker (piano)
? date, Ann Arbor, Michigan
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