The 1930s proved to be a bumper decade for violin concertos, and 1939
was the most productive year of all, with these three works seeing
fruition (the Walton and Hartmann were both later revised), as well as
concertos by Britten, Hindemith and Gál – any of which, incidentally,
would have fitted on the rather skimpily filled second disc.
Korean–American violinist Fabiola Kim proves an ideal exponent of all
three concertos. There’s real warmth to her playing in the Walton, with
some perceptive interplay between her and Kevin John Edusei’s Munich
musicians. A particular strength is the variety of tone colours she
displays, especially in the mercurial closing section of the central
‘alla napolitana’ Scherzo.
Hartmann’s Concerto funèbre is the only work of the three here that
demonstrably reflects the wider state of the world in that fateful year,
and Kim’s first entry is filled with fragile foreboding, matched with
sombre retorts from the richly hued Munich strings. The main Allegro di
molto has as much anger as vigour, and dissolves into the closing
funeral march with a melancholy inevitability as Kim’s keening lines
peal away into an uncertain future.
Bartók’s Second Violin Concerto was written as he faced the dilemma
of whether to stay in Hungary or flee, and the result is one of the most
overtly Magyar of his late works. Kim gives a heartfelt performance
that taps its emotions as much as it exploits its unashamed playfulness,
and again there’s vigorous, characterful orchestral support. This,
then, is a highly satisfying concerto collection, all in excellently
recorded sound.
Comentarios
Publicar un comentario