After his interpretation of the Beethoven
and Korngold concertos, Renaud Capuçon now combines
another pair of concertos, one amongst the most popular of all,
the other a little less so. Comparing the two discs directly,
this latter one benefits enormously from the peerless orchestral
playing of the Vienna Philharmonic which is in a different class
to that of the Rotterdamers, fine as they were. The recorded
sound is also top notch and, when you match this with such fine
performances, this disc is on to a winner.
Capuçon’s playing is a delight throughout. At the
soloist’s entry in the Brahms concerto, he strides onto
centre-stage with defiance but quickly allows the orchestra
to tame his stridency so that within seconds the violin’s
tone is purring and beautiful. His take on the first subject
is already serene and contemplative. He allows a lovely portamento
to creep into his playing style that isn’t quite a glissando
but which allows him to move between notes in a manner that
I found most alluring. His technical skill is exemplary but
it’s always used in a manner to accentuate the beauty
of the music. The double-stopping at the beginning of the development,
for example, is sweet-toned and persuasive. His cadenza (Kreisler’s)
is astonishing, especially the trills which surround his recall
of the second subject and the triple-stopped undulations that
bring it to an end are truly remarkable. The violin’s
rapt contemplation of the main theme in the Adagio is lovely
too, and the acrobatics of the finale are as exhilarating as
you would expect. Harding’s direction is secure and he
controls the long span of the opening movement well, though
he seems to hold something back in the coda, diminishing the
effect of the final bars. His pacing of the beautiful oboe theme
of the great Adagio, however, was a touch too fast for my taste;
for once, the oboe felt a little exposed against its background.
However, the energy of the finale is infectious, and the closing
bars sound appropriately final.
The Berg concerto is just as well played. The inwardness of
the music is reflected in playing that is more reflective and
suggestive than the Brahms. The opening arpeggios, for example,
sound almost as though they are lightly veiled. This half-lit
sonority gives this performance of the concerto a special character
of its own. Capuçon’s playing is by turns reflective
and vigorous. Compare the dreamy lightness of the violin’s
tone at the very opening with the vigorous passage work around
the three-minute mark of the first movement. He is in love with
this work, something he makes clear in the brief essay he writes
for the booklet note, and his affection for it comes through
with every lovingly crafted phrase. The orchestra feels smaller
here, sounding more like a tight-knit body than a full-scale
symphony orchestra. The winds, frequently playing as soloists,
sound intimate and close, while the strings could almost be
an augmented quartet, so delicate and communicative is the quality
of their sound. Even at the big tutti moments the Vienna
Philharmonic shape their sound to match the character of the
work they are bringing to life. Harding helps this by shading
the sound oh-so-carefully as each episode gives way to the next.
The first part is allowed to come gently to its close before
the second erupts like a psychodrama. The ensuing two minutes
is as nerve-shredding as you’ll find, before, in its turn,
yielding to a lovely interplay between the violin and the orchestral
winds. When the Bach quotation comes it is built delicately
into the texture and helps to move the music forward so that
it culminates in a transcendentally lovely final chord.
In his booklet essay Capuçon praises the “distinctive,
luminous sonority” of this orchestra. In that sense alone
this is an almost ideal partnership of soloist and orchestra.
Elsewhere the booklet tells us that “interested collectors
have until now looked for [the Berg concerto] in the Vienna
Philharmonic’s discography practically in vain.”
This recording shows that the wait was worthwhile.
Simon Thompson
Masterwork Index: Brahms
violin concerto
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Renaud Capuçon (violin) 