Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
Violin Concerto in D, Op. 61 [44:13]
Franz Alexander PÖSSINGER (1767-1827)
Violin Concerto in G, Op. 9 [17:45]
Anton Steck (violin)
L’arpa festante/Matthew Halls (conductor)
rec. Martinskirche, Müllheim, Germany, May 2016
World premiere recording (Possinger)
ACCENT ACC24320 [62:01]
The CD case advertises this recording of Beethoven’s
Violin Concerto as the world premiere recording of the “original version
after the autograph”, and in the booklet notes they argue that the solo
violin part of the concerto was all but lost after the original performance
and that it now exists thanks to different printed versions that appeared
later after an editing process had been put in place. Violinist Anton Steck
has tried to reconstruct the original part and, yes, there are some textual
differences in the solo part which you'll spot if you know the work
well. As is often the case with these things, however, they make really very
little difference (an extra run here, a slightly delayed entry there) so,
unless you're an obsessive, they're not a deal-breaker for this
performance.
Much more important will be how you judge the sound of the performance. It's
what I’d call an “aggressively period” performance. The
sound of the orchestra seems to be deliberately rough around the edges, embracing
the rawness with barely any attempt made to smooth it over or to chime in
with our contemporary view of homogeneity. There is instrumental character
as a payoff, with some very unusual sounding winds and brass, and the string
tone is mostly satisfying. It's not really to my taste, however. That,
of course, doesn't invalidate it as an approach, and it will definitely
appeal to a certain market - I can imagine some describing it as “fearless”
- but it goes a little too much in a certain direction for me. There are lots
of period performances out there that tread a very successful halfway house
between two extremes; an approach which this one largely eschews.
It's hard to tell how much of that is due to the instruments and how
much to the direction of Matthew Halls, who restrains the orchestral sound
at the start of the Larghetto so much that it's almost as though he
is ashamed of it. He plays with the tempo a little waywardly here, too, holding
things back so much that you have to remind yourself you're not listening
to an Adagio. At other times, such as the end of the Rondo, where the orchestra
threatens to engulf the soloist completely, it sounds as though he is trying
to fight a battle rather than play some music. Some will find that exciting
but for me it's trying too hard to prove a point, and I found it wearing.
Furthermore, Steck’s period violin isn't particularly pleasing
on the ear either, its sound rather too scratchy or strained for my taste.
He plays it mightily impressively, however, doing things in the cadenza that
might remind you of some of the stories of those ultra-showy 19th century
virtuosi who premiered many of these works, Franz Clement who premiered this
work, for example. He's showy, but nowhere near as musically insensitive
as those people were said to have been, and I must say that he won me over
with some beautiful, uncommonly sensitive playing in the second half of the
slow movement. His extra interpolated cadenza between the second and third
movements is a bit daft, though at least it uses lots of Beethoven’s
material well, and he ties it up with a very successful lead-in to the main
Rondo theme.
If anything, it’s the Pössinger concerto that is the more interesting
part of this CD. Franz Alexander Pössinger was a friend of Beethoven, a publisher,
a musician in the musical ensemble attached to the Viennese court, and a renowned
arranger; and it’s possible that he was involved in the preparation
of the violin part for publication. Consequently, it’s interesting to
hear an example of his own original work. Well above the merely generic, this
is a rarity worth reviving. His sound is closer to Mozart than to Beethoven,
but you can hear the Classical world straining towards the Romantic clearly
enough, most notably in the minor-key slow movement which has an operatic
intensity that reminds me of Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante; darkly focused,
but very beautiful too. The first movement has serious musical business to
do, not just repeated chugging, and the finale is a graceful, almost galant-style
Rondo.
Steck plays it with great commitment, almost as though it were Mozart,
and this pays rich dividends. He clearly knows the style very well, and it
seems to me that the orchestra are on better behaviour here, too; though,
of course, I have no other recording against which to compare them. All in
all, I found this a hugely satisfying performance, and it's probably
for this that I'll go back to this disc most. I'm prepared to
give the Beethoven another chance, however, though I can't say I'm
looking forward to it.
Simon Thompson
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