Adolf Busch (violin)
Concertos in Wartime New York
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77
Antonin Dvořák (1841-1904)
Violin Concerto in A Minor, Op. 53
Johannes Brahms
Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77 - 3rd movement
New York Philharmonic/William Steinberg (Brahms)
NBC Symphony Orchestra/Frank Black (movement)
National Orchestral Association/Léon Barzin (Dvořák)
rec. live, Carnegie Hall, New York, 18 July 1943, (Brahms); 10 December 1944 (Dvořák); 1942, NBC Studios, New York (movement)
PRISTINE AUDIO PASC661 [73]
This new release from Pristine Audio features wartime live performances of two violin concertos central to the repertoire of German–Swiss violinist Adolf Busch (1891-1952). He had studied both of them at the Conservatory in Cologne with his teacher Bram Eldering, a pupil of Joachim. It was for Joachim that Brahms and Dvořák wrote their concertos, though the violinist never actually performed the latter.
Busch performed the Brahms Violin Concerto many times over the course of his career. Yet, despite the fact that he had made commercial inscriptions of the concertos of Bach and Beethoven, for the third "B" we have to look to live airings. As Tully Potter remarks in his accompanying liner, the Brahms Concerto became the violinist’s “calling card”. Busch’s composition teacher in Cologne was Fritz Steinbach, who had been Brahms’ favorite conductor. It was Steinbach who conducted most of the violinist’s early performances of the Concerto, the first being on 10 January 1910.
The Brahms Concerto we have here dates from 18 July 1943, the venue New York’s famous Carnegie Hall. William Steinberg directs the New York Philharmonic. Steinberg and Busch were friends as well as colleagues. They had presented the Concerto four times in Palestine back in 1937. It’s a performance that certainly doesn’t linger, with Steinberg keeping tight rein on proceedings and coaxing rhythmically incisive playing from his players. What secures the success of the performance is both the soloist’s and conductor’s singularity of vision. Busch plays his own cadenza in the first movement. The Adagio is superb, heartfelt and yearning; I love Busch’s long-breathed lines and expressive phrasing. The finale is dispatched with gusto, and is capped by scintillating virtuosity. From a year earlier there’s a final movement only with the NBC Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Frank Black. It’s also a riveting rendition, overflowing with frisson and excitement.
From the latter years of the War, 10 December 1944 to be more precise, we have a traversal of the Dvořák Violin Concerto. Carnegie Hall is again the venue, with Léon Barzin conducting the National Orchestral Association, an orchestra, described by Tully Potter, “which acted as a bridge between music colleges and professional orchestras”. Busch’s rich warm tone is very much in evidence throughout. There’s breadth and nobility in the conception, with Barzin very much the sensitive collaborator. The finale is exceptionally fine, brisk and rhythmically buoyant. The soloist is ideally profiled in the mix. It’s a performance with a tangible feeling of true humanity.
Both concerto performances have had previous incarnations on CD. The Brahms Concerto was previously issued on a Music & Arts CD (1107). I’m fortunate to have a copy of this and a direct comparison of the two transfers swayed me in favour of the Pristine Audio transfer by Andrew Rose, for its lessened surface noise and more defined and vital audio quality. The Dvořák performance has appeared on ARBITER 117, but I can’t offer any comparison in this regard. Busch’s final performance of the Brahms was on 18 December 1951 with the Basel Orchestra conducted by Hans Münch. He retired due to health problems after this, and died the following year. The performance can be found on Guild Historical GHCD2418, which I reviewed back in 2016. The traversal reveals that the violinist was no longer able to match the sparkling virtuosity of his earlier years.
Rose’s XR remasterings have granted these historical recordings a fresh lease of life. Applause has been retained. Who could be bettered than Tully Potter, Busch’s renowned biographer, to provide the annotations. All told, this is remarkable violin playing.
Stephen Greenbank
