Adolf Busch (violin)
Bruno Seidler-Winkler (piano), Rudolf Serkin (piano) in the Bach sonata; Busch String Quartet (Adolf Busch (violin), Gösta Andreasson (violin), Paul Doktor (viola), Paul Grümmer (cello))
rec. 1921-29, Berlin
Track-listing at end of review
GUILD HISTORICAL GHCD2406-07 [56:16 : 65:53]
Adolf Busch was born in Siegen, Westphalia in 1891 and had two
brothers who were also distinguished musicians: Fritz the famous
conductor, and Herman the cellist. He studied the violin with
Willy Hess and Bram Elderling at the Cologne Conservatory. He
also studied composition under Fritz Steinbach. In 1912 he played
the Beethoven Concerto under Max Reger who told Busch’s
fiancé Frieda Gruters that Busch was taking the place of
Joachim and that he had never heard the concerto played in such
a way before. This was great praise indeed.
After the First World War, he founded the Busch Quartet, which
continued until 1951, a year before his death at the relatively
young age of sixty-one. In the late 1920s Busch became disillusioned
and unhappy at the political situation that was emerging in Germany,
and moved with his family and Rudolf Serkin, whom he regarded
as a son, to Basel, Switzerland in 1927. A man of great integrity
and moral conviction he was appalled by the Nazi’s treatment
of the Jews when they came to power in 1933. From then on, until
after the war, he boycotted performing in Germany, and from 1938
Italy also. As a result of his high principles, his income was
thus halved. At the outbreak of the Second World War he emigrated
to the United States and settled in Vermont. In the States, together
with Serkin, who married Busch’s daughter, he founded the
Marlboro School and Festival. Counted amongst his students were
Stefi Geyer, Erica Morini and Yehudi Menuhin.
The Swiss label Guild is to be commended for bringing together
for the first time, on this two-CD set, the complete recordings
Adolf Busch made in Berlin between 1921 and 1929. The first recordings
were made for the independent label Deutsche Grammophon Aktiengesellschaft,
after it separated from HMV following the First World War. He
would probably have begun his recording career earlier if it hadn’t
been for world events which coincided with the launch of his professional
career. He was twenty-nine at the time and initially contracted
to record six items, but their success and popularity lead to
a further twelve and eight more with his string quartet. For the
piano-accompanied items, the pianist employed was Bruno Seidler-Winkler
(1880-1960), none other than the company’s musical director.
All the sessions took place in Berlin, where Busch lived at the
time.
The earliest discs were acoustically recorded and sonically are
constrained by the restrictions that this primitive recording
method imposed. Considerable allowances have to be made by the
listener. They are also limiting in their failure to convey the
full splendour of the violinist’s tone and personality.
For these acoustic recordings Busch uses his 1716 Strad, which
has a less full-bodied and opulent tone than his 1732 ‘ex-Wiener’
Strad employed in the later electrical recordings. When we come
to the electrical recordings from 1928-9 on CD 2, one is immediately
struck by the dramatic improvement in sound quality.
There are many good things here. Three Hungarian Dances by Brahms
are included. They are exciting performances, delivered with fire
and panache. Rubato is subtly applied. The Dvořák
Slavonic Dances are similarly vibrant, rhythmical buoyant and
exciting. Intonation is always pristine, especially in double-stop
passages. A test pressing of Op. 46 No. 8 is included. The Corelli
Adagio, in Busch’s own arrangement, is expressive,
but it was marred by some pretty ungainly finger slides. Several
Kreisler pieces are included, with an exceptionally compelling
account of the ‘Tartini’ Variations on a Theme of
Corelli and some pretty impressive bowing. The Quartet items I
was less impressed with. Apart from the Hofstetter, they are one
movement extracts only, as was the norm at the time. They are
less successful than the solo items. The acoustic process renders
the sound somewhat congested.
The Bach items on CD 2, recorded electrically, were made by Electrola,
which was established in 1926 as HMV’s German arm, replacing
DG. By the time these recordings were made in 1928-9, the process
had come on by leaps and bounds. The difference in sound quality
is striking and much easier on the ear. We are fortunate to have
a complete Partita in D minor, BWV 1004 from 1929. Despite Henri
Marteau’s complete E major Partita set down acoustically
in 1912, Busch’s was the first complete Bach work recorded
by the electrical process. His achievement came exactly one day
before his illustrious pupil Yehudi Menuhin recorded the C major
Sonata in London. Busch’s is an authoritative performance,
marked by nobility and spirituality. He has a fundamental intellectual
grasp of the whole work, especially the mighty Chaconne which
ends the work. Good intonation, flexible tempo relations and an
underlying rhythmical pulse, mark this performance with distinction.
The wonderful Sonata in G major, arranged by Busch and Blume,
is accompanied by Rudolf Serkin.
Violin buffs will be overjoyed with this release, and the opportunity
to hear some captivating playing by a true master. The booklet
notes, which are in English only, are written by Tully Potter,
Busch’s biographer, and provide a detailed and comprehensive
account of the circumstances surrounding these recording treasures.
Stephen Greenbank
Previous review: Jonathan
Woolf
Track Listing
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) (arr. Joachim)
Hungarian Dance No. 2 in D minor [2:50]
Hungarian Dance No. 20 in D minor [2:02]
Arcangelo Corelli (1653-1713) (arr. Busch)
Sonata in G minor, Op. 5, No. 5: Adagio [3:09]
Antonín Dvorák (1841-1904) (arr. Press)
Slavonic Dance in A flat major, Op. 46, No. 3, b78 [4:06]
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Partita in E major, bwv1006, for solo violin: Preludio [3:16]
Partita in E major, bwv1006, for solo violin: Gavotte en Rondeau
[2:44]
Giuseppe Tartini (1692-1770) (arr. Corti)
Sonata in G major, Op. 2, No. 12: Adagio [3:05]
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) (arr. Press)
Romantic Piece, Op. 75, No. 1, b150: Larghetto [3:01]
François Joseph Gossec (1734-1829) (arr. Burmester)
Gavotte from 'Rosine' [1:58]
Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962)
Dittersdorf' Scherzo [2:35]
Robert Schumann (1810-1856) (arr. Hüllweck)
Kinderszenen, Op. 15: Träumerei [3:22]
Nicola Porpora (1686-1768) (arr. Corti)
Aria in E major [3:00]
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) (arr. Press)
Slavonic Dance in G minor, Op. 46, No. 8, b78 [3:24]
Slavonic Dance in G minor, Op. 46, No. 8, b78 [3:25]
Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962)
'Tartini' Variations on a Theme of Corelli [2:59]
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) (arr. Wilhelmj)
Humoresque in G flat major, Op. 101, No. 7, b187 [3:08]
Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962)
'Pugnani' Praeludium and Allegro [4:59]
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) (arr. Joachim)
Hungarian Dance No. 5 in G minor [2:16]
Roman Hofstetter (1742-1815)
'Haydn' String Quartet in F major, Op. 3, No. 5
- I. Presto [2:53]: II. Andante cantabile [4:02] III. Menuett
[3:19] IV. Scherzando [2:50]
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
String Quartet in D major, K575: Andante [4:58]: Menuetto [4:10]
Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)
String Quartet in E minor: Prestissimo [2:32]
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
String Quartet in G major, D887: Scherzo: Allegro vivace [4:29]
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Partita in D minor, BVW 1004, for solo violin: Sarabanda [3:37]
Partita in D minor, BVW 1004, for solo violin: Giga [1:57]
Sonata in G major, BWV1021 (arr. Busch, Blume) [8:02]
Partita in D minor, BWV1004, for solo violin [22:06]
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