Bohuslav MARTINŮ (1890-1959)
Violin Concerto No. 2 H. 293 (1943) [26:42]
Violin Concerto No. 1 H. 226 (1932-33) [22:42]
Béla BARTÓK (1881-1945)
Sonata for solo violin, Sz. 117, (1944) [24:12]
Franz Peter Zimmermann (violin)
Bamberg Symphony Orchestra/Jakub Hrůša
rec. 2018/19, Konzerthalle Bamberg, Germany (Martinů); 2019/20, Siemens Villa, Berlin, Germany (Bartók)
BIS BIS-2457 SACD [74:40]
Bohuslav Martinů's First Violin Concerto was for several decades considered incomplete and the manuscript lost. But it seems the composer simply could not please Samuel Dushkin, the violinist who commissioned him to write the work, as Dushkin prevailed upon Martinů to make numerous changes to the concerto that in the end soured the interest of both to consummate the project. Whether Martinů intended to revise the work and offer it to another violinist is not known. The concerto had its premiere only in 1973, with Josef Suk as soloist and Georg Solti conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The Second Concerto, in stark contrast to the First, enjoyed immediate success: written for violinist Mischa Elman, it was premiered on New Year's Eve, 1943, the same year Martinů completed it, with Serge Koussevitzky and the Boston Symphony Orchestra accompanying. Both concertos have achieved a fair measure of currency on recordings, especially the Second, but neither has ever moved even close to the fringes of the standard repertory.
The Second Concerto opens the disc, and I believe it is the stronger of the two works. It has a post-romantic and Czech folk-like character for the most part, whereas the First is more in the neo-classical vein. The opening movement of the Second (Andante – poco allegro) begins in an austere manner but quickly turns warmly lyrical after the violin enters with a brief cadenza-like passage, a passage that returns near the end and brings on a longer cadenza. In between the music is generally lively and features a sort of rhapsodic quality, with much interesting writing for both orchestra and violin. Cast in a free ABA form, the second movement (Andante moderato) is very lyrical and mostly serene. The finale (Poco allegro) is quite colorful and dance-like, cheerful too in its playfulness, folk-like flavors, and energy.
The First Concerto is very virtuosic and has been called Stravinskyan in its embrace of neo-classical styles and other features associated with Stravinsky. But the work is clearly identifiable as the product of Martinů, divulging relatively little that reflects a substantial debt to the older composer's 1931 Violin Concerto or other of his works. The Allegro moderato first movement of the Martinů First is very busy, always bustling with drive and energy. Yet its mood is somewhat tense and the music often seems to be conflicted and struggling. Perhaps more here than in the challenging finale, the violinist really gets a workout. The second movement (Andante) contrasts sharply with the outer panels as it is quite warmly lyrical, with lovely writing for both the violin and woodwinds. It bridges right into the finale (Allegretto) which is energetic, like the first movement, but of an even wilder demeanor, especially as the music proceeds. There are also many jazz elements here as well as colorful exchanges with percussion instruments.
Well known German violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann takes on these two concertos with a fine grasp on Martinů's eclectic style, fully capturing the various moods. As mentioned the First Concerto is quite difficult for a violinist, but Zimmermann plays the thorniest passages quite brilliantly and with no perceptible strain, actually with seeming ease. Interpretively, he's just as convincing in the lyrical music in the Second Concerto and in the middle movement of the First. His tempos tend toward the brisk side in both works and he adjusts his style to effectively express the neo-classical manner of the First and the post-romantic leanings of the Second. Notice, for example, how he's right on target in the sweet and sour first movement of the First, imparting plenty of energy to its driving character, slashing away to capture its often astringent tonal qualities, and enlivening its tricky syncopations with a fine rhythmic sense. In the Second he never lets the lyrical music sag by indulging in its own lushness, but instead often gives it a passionate almost fiery sense in his spirited pacing and deft way with accenting.
Jakub Hrůša draws splendid playing from the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra in both works, and BIS provides vivid, well balanced sound on this SACD. As mentioned above Josef Suk premiered the First Concerto in 1973, but he then went on to record both concertos for Supraphon with Vaclav Neumann and the Czech Philharmonic that same year. That recording was my introduction to these concertos and both performances are splendid. That said, I would now favor these excellent new ones by Zimmermann and Hrůša, both artistically and sonically.
There is of course another work on the disc, the Bartók Sonata for solo violin. Alongside the Martinů concertos, it sounds austere and at times almost didactic, as it is more formally strict, more serious-minded, and features a somewhat inscrutable expressive language, sounding quite unlike the relatively mild character of Bartók's other late works. But for those uninitiated listeners willing to brave its initial difficulties, it should prove a quite rewarding piece. Zimmermann once again turns in fine work here, elucidating this sonata with well conceived phrasing, which features tempos in the moderate to slightly brisk range and deft manipulation of tonal quality: listen to how Zimmermann's velvety, gentle timbre captures the eerie character of the third movement or how his brilliantly executed sul ponticello effects near the end of the finale enhance the otherworldly aspects of the music. This is also a brilliant performance, one to challenge the best of the competition in this work, which includes Yehudi Menuhin (EMI), Ruggiero Ricci (Decca), and Dénes Kovács (Hungaroton). Excellent sound reproduction once again by BIS.
In summation I can say these performances are all splendid and if the two Martinů concertos are still unfamiliar to many listeners, that makes this disc all the more worthy of acquisition. Strongly recommended!
Robert Cummings
Previous review: Jonathan Woolf
