Arabella Steinbacher has previously released a number of
recordings on the Orfeo label, with both Shostakovich concertos,
and those by Berg, Beethoven, Khatchaturian
and Milhaud already under her belt. She now appears on the SACD specialist Pentatone
label, perhaps taking over the baton from Julia Fischer after her move to Decca.
I do love a good violin concerto disc, and was looking forward to this rather
intriguing programme - mixing the highly charged and heavily scented romanticism
of Szymanowski with the rugged open spaces of Dvořák. While it does
make for a good technical listen in sound-engineering terms, I’m afraid
it doesn’t quite make it into the ‘great recordings’ category
as a set of performances.
My reference for the Szymanowski
Violin Concerto No. 1 Op. 35 is that
with Thomas Zehetmair with Sir Simon Rattle and the CBSO on EMI 5 55607 2. Rattle
may not be all things to all people, but I do feel he gets Szymanowski right
most of the time, and his
Stabat Mater recording on the same label is
the best and most beautiful I know. At once, the differences are clear. Rattle’s
Birmingham forces fill the opening with restless energy and expectancy, the instruments
of the orchestra colouring and conversing, laying fertile ground for the violin
solo to tell its mysterious story of passion and lament. I’m afraid we
don’t get much of this kind of thing from Janowski’s Berlin Radio
orchestra. Everything is competently played, but the landscape is neon-lit and
lacking in atmosphere. Comparing the orchestral string sound between the two,
it seems as hardly any attention has been paid to creating that lushness of texture
which this music demands. The same goes for when things liven up. Rattle teases,
unleashing the climaxes with inflections of delay and rubato, turning the music
into an organic, living thing. Janowski is dynamic, sometimes, but far too mechanical,
lacking in pace and energy where the music attacks and drives, dissipating what
little tension there is by dragging from an already slower base tempo in the
all important opening
Vivace assai.
Arabella Steinbacher is a good violinist, but Zehetmair shows us what’s
what in the cadenza for this concerto. His violin crackles and sparkles with
extremes of range and urgent dynamic where Steinbacher’s explores without
quite finding the nugget, pure and sweet though her high tones are. The Wagnerian ‘big
tune’ which launches us into the finale is a breathtaking ride on Rattle’s
magnificent flying machine. I’m afraid Janowski’s looms out of the
fog and retreats rather ingloriously, the rather fussily over-prominent piano
unfortunately helping to kill the atmosphere rather than adding fizz to the general
soundscape. If you are a fan of the dark romance of 1916 the choice is that between
Szymanowski’s story being told to you by an ancient mariner in a candle-lit,
darkly oak-panelled snug, or by the man behind the counter in the snack-bar next
door with the white formica surfaces.
On to Dvořák’s Violin Concerto in A Minor, Op. 53, a piece
with plenty of world class recordings in the catalogue. Aside from this release’s
SACD sonic credentials, it is hard to find a reason for giving it a recommendation
over Maxim Vengerov and Kurt Masur on Teldec, or another competitive young female
in Sarah Chang, whose recording on EMI with Sir Colin Davis also has a fine performance
of the A major
Piano Quintet. As with the Szymanowski, this performance
is more workmanlike than inspirational. All the notes are in the right place,
but there’s not a great deal else going on behind them. As with the other
concerto on this disc, the energy and urgency in the outer movements is never
given much chance to take hold, as if Dvořák’s
ma non troppo marking
for each is taken as being the principal guide: ‘not too much, someone
might get hurt...’ With this in mind, one would hope at least that the
Adagio
ma non troppo would avoid becoming too sentimental, but with Steinbacher
sliding between the notes once or twice too often for my taste even this aim
is rather coyly scuppered. The
Finale - Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo is
missing almost all of its dance-like movement in this performance, and as a result
most of its joy. Leaden and mechanical are the two words which sum it up, and
I’m sorry to have had to use them. Dvořák’s
Romance Op.11
is a nice enough filler, but even were this to be a world-beating performance
it would be too little too late. In the end it sounds like what it is; a filler,
pleasant but not especially memorable.
As per usual, Pentatone have created a fine, natural sound for the orchestra.
The solo violin is fairly forward but not painfully so, and the moments where
the soloist mixes into and melts into the orchestral sound are well enough balanced
in the Szymanowski. Taken in isolation, this is a disc which probably won’t
offend your sensibilities, and fans of Arabella Steinbacher will no doubt appreciate
being able to hear her in surround-sound. There is, however, so much more in
this
music than this release offers, and it would be disingenuous of me to praise
it over so many other, more inspired recordings.
Dominy Clements
Arabella Steinbacher (violin) 
[71:44] 
