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Mozart, Brahms: Anne-Sophie Mutter (violin); London Symphony Orchestra/André Previn. Barbican Hall, 22.6. 2008 (CC)


This is actually the third Brahms Violin Concerto I have heard in recent months in London. On June 6th, Leonidas Kavakos joined the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and Riccardo Chailly  at the Barbican in a generally nondescript account; over at the Festival Hall on May 23rd, Julian Rachlin with the Royal Philharmonic under Gatti was better, exhibiting more character, but still barely memorable. Anne-Sophie Mutter comes with string credentials in this piece (a work she has recorded twice: once early on in her career, with Karajan at the helm, and later in 1997 with Masur in New York). Hers was a remarkable performance, marked by simply astonishing facility (like virtually no other player, technical obstacles melt in her presence) and real, dig-in grit. Her fire was balanced by a cantabile line and moments of real suave gait. She seemed intent to keep the piece on a highwire balancing act between the extremes of sweetness (even übersweetness in her extreme high register) and an inner dynamism. The cadenza, the standard Joachim, was a highpoint here, absolutely jaw-dropping technically but at the same time entirely at one with the overall interpretaion.

Mutter brought a slight edge to her tone for some passages in the Andante moderato which were not inappropriate (special mention, too, to Andrew Marriner and Emanuel Abbühm on clarinet and flute, respectively, for their melting solos here); the finale had fire in its belly, as if Mutter had inspired the orchestra. One untidy moment of solo/orchestra ensemble just before the work’s coda was not enough to mar the achievement.

In the first movement, there was a telling moment when the orchestral contribution effectively sagged, while Mutter‘s did not. Some splattery woodwind playing in the slow movement also acted as reminders of the largely nondescript all-Mozart first half of the concert. The Serenade in G, K525 (universally known only as ‘Eine kleine Nachtmusik’) had some lovely moments, including a nice attention to inner-part detail in the finale, and ensemble work here was the best of the concert, but some first movement diminuendi just sounded affected. Hard-sticked timpani added edge to the opening of the 39th Symphony – but it was just a pity this opening was not together. We were treated to the exposition repeat, but the recurring question was, how much rehearsal time had they spent on this? Low voltage, too many untidy corners, slack dotted rhythms in the Andante, a Trio that smacked not a bit of Lederhosen and a general lack of vim added up to an interpretation that tended towards the forgettable. Only the finale exhibited any real sense of urgency, or or life, even. Just as well Mutter turned up and rescued the evening, really.

Colin Clarke


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