Spohr’s two Concertanti were written some 25 years apart, and
display his characteristic melodic grace, adept interplay, and
a sometimes intriguing approach to orchestration. It all makes
for fluent listening, especially given the fine performances
enshrined in this disc.
The elegant two minute orchestral introduction to the A major
Concertante sets the marker. Clever registral interplay demarcates
Spohr’s schema, allowing contrast but also unison. Overall
he imbues the music with a joie de vivre demonstrated
by ebullient trills which lead dramatically into the orchestral
tutti – maybe a stock gadget but when carried off with panache
still an exciting one. Spohr manages too to imbue the wind writing
with sufficient personality and the curlicues for this section
add nicely to the orchestral sound-picture. With a rather pious
slow movement – neat running orchestral pizzicato show the composer
pulling out all the stops – there is also sweet charm. And with
a bright, jovial finale, rich in gallant hues (and animating
horns) this is a work well worth getting to know.
Its companion was written in 1833. The two violins enter much
earlier than in the previous work, establishing their credentials
with more romantic spirit. Kraggerud and Bjorå take care to
give full weight to those moments when Spohr encourages a spongy
lower string statement from the one and an answering crystalline
upper string commentary from the other. Again the wind playing
is pert – the orchestral forces here are adept. The notes speak
of Spohr’s writing here being anticipatory of Berlioz, Tchaikovsky
and Mahler. Well, the last named is surely far-fetched in this
context, but there are some intriguing pre-echoes of Tchaikovsky
certainly. The grazioso double-stops of the two soloists
in the slow movement are set atop intriguingly reduced orchestral
support. The finale has brio but is not aggressive; it’s an
Allegretto after all, and has just a few hints that Spohr was
more than slightly au fait with Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante.
Published in 1833 and one of his studies, the Violin Duet in
G major maintains a good balance between expressive and technical
demands, the multi-sectional nature of the second movement being
especially successful in this regard.
There are other performances of the two Concertantes. Ulf Hoelscher
recorded them with his sister Gunhild on CPO 999 798-2 though
I wasn’t able to audition them. Hoelscher, as some will know,
is something of a hero of the Spohr violin discography having
recorded the complete cycle of concertos. Nevertheless this
sprucely performed Naxos entrant is notably well played and
recorded.
Jonathan Woolf
see also review by John-Pierre
Joyce
Henning Kraggerud (violin); Øyvind Bjorå (violin) 
