Edward Elgar’s first professional engagement as a violinist
came at the age of 17, for the Worcester Festival Choral Society.
While making his way as a composer he continued to earn a living
as a violin teacher and freelance violinist. He thus had the
chance to get to know the instrument intimately, and he wrote
for it throughout his career. His teaching gave him the opportunity
to compose technical etudes and short pedagogical pieces. The
ever practical Elgar was also aware of the large market for
salon music, and wrote a surprising amount in this genre, a
mixture of original compositions and arrangements of earlier
pieces.
His complete violin output is collected, for the first time
as far as I know, in this 3 CD set. The soloist is Marat Bisengaliev
who was born in Kazakhstan in 1962. He studied at the Tchaikovsky
Conservatory in Moscow, and has won several international compositions.
He is also the founder and artistic director of the West Kazakhstan
Philharmonic Orchestra; this orchestra features in the Violin
Concerto, under the baton of the young Thai conductor Bundit
Ungrangsee. This and the Serenade for Strings, op. 20, occupy
the first disc. CD 2 is given over to the salon music and technical
etudes. CD 3 contains the rest of the salon music and the Violin
Sonata, op. 82. Bisengaliev’s accompanist on discs 2 and 3 is
the British pianist Benjamin Frith.
The wonderful Violin Concerto and late Violin Sonata are probably
Elgar’s best known violin works. The concerto is highly emotional,
with an almost mystical feeling to the slow movement. The finale
features a long accompanied cadenza, which seems like a contradiction
in theory, but works splendidly in practice. Scholars have puzzled
over the Spanish inscription on the score, a translation of
which reads “Here is enshrined the soul of”, followed by five
dots - not three as the liner-notes state. Whatever the meaning
of this tantalising note, even for Elgar this seems an unusually
personal work; it is Brahmsian in its emotional intensity, but
one can’t imagine Brahms pouring out his heart in such an intimate
way.
A Kazakh orchestra and soloist and a Thai conductor seemed an
unlikely combination for such a quintessentially English work
as the Elgar Violin Concerto. I was expecting a raw and rather
scrappy band, but from the beginning I was captivated. The orchestra
plays the opening phrase precisely, with nicely shaded brass;
I would actually have liked a bit more from them. The pacing,
so vital to Elgar, was subtly varied, with a lovely sense of
repose. Bisengaliev’s entry was beautifully warm; he was recorded
quite forward in the balance, but with playing like this, it
wasn’t a problem. In the emotionality and spontaneity of his
playing he reminded me of Menuhin, without the fallible intonation
of that player’s maturity. Bisengaliev brought great tonal and
dynamic variety to his part, his G string being at times particularly
throaty. He and Ungrangsee handled the tempo fluctuations with
an intuitive feeling for when to press forward, and when to
let the music pause and gather energy. All that was lacking
was a bit more presence from the brass.
The second movement established the Elysian feeling immediately;
Bisengaliev played with great warmth as before, this time with
especial tenderness and intimacy. For my money this is one of
the great violin concerto slow movements, an interlude away
from the restless intensity of the first movement. I have had
tears in my eyes from time to time when listening to music,
but I actually began to sob when listening to this movement,
something I’ve never experienced before. Bisengaliev and his
Kazakh forces seem to be able to tune straight into the emotion
behind this music, which they handle with great assurance and
restraint.
The finale just seemed to go off the boil at the beginning.
There was no deterioration in the playing; Bisengaliev remained
in total control, producing some nicely expressive slides in
his handling of the second subject. But the orchestra’s playing
of the rumbustious syncopated episodes was a bit literal: maybe
they were getting tired - impressively, all of the concerto
and the string serenade was recorded on the one day. The accompanied
cadenza, however, brought the proceedings back into focus. The
muted accompaniment to this section began in spectral fashion
with the strings playing sul ponticello. Bisengaliev
handled this long episode with sensitivity and great inwardness;
his harmonics were nicely in tune. The brass cut through the
texture at the powerful final cadence to add an authentic Elgarian
touch.
Competition is stiff for recordings of this concerto. Menuhin
recorded it twice, the first time in his teens with Elgar conducting
(review);
I grew up on his stereo remake from the 1960s with Adrian Boult.
In the modern era, Nigel Kennedy’s first recording is a fine
one (review).
Until I heard this recording, my favourite was Kyoko Takezawa’s
1993 recording with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted
by Sir Colin Davis. Takezawa tears into the solo in terrific
fashion, and the partnership with Davis is one of those young/old
ones that really strikes sparks. That performance is actually
about two minutes slower in the second movement than Bisengaliev.
Interestingly, Takezawa was felt by some to be lacking inwardness
in this movement, something that can’t be said of the present
recording. I still love the Takezawa, but for his unerring grasp
of Elgar’s pacing, the beautiful warmth of his playing, and
his technical assurance, I now give Bisengaliev top ranking.
The disc concludes with a performance of the Serenade for Strings,
op. 20. This is a pleasant work, evocative of a morning walk
in the country, and written with Elgar’s usual expertise. The
Kazakh strings started off in an unpretentious way with well
varied dynamics. The second movement was not quite relaxed enough
at the beginning, but recovered to reach an emotional climax.
The open strings come through nicely in the relaxed finale.
This is not as polished a performance as that of the Academy
of St Martin-in-the-Fields/Neville Marriner (review);
as a filler for the Concerto, however, it is perfectly acceptable,
and a good way to come down from the emotional highs of the
latter piece.
The next two discs present Elgar’s shorter pieces for violin
and piano, 35 in number, and the Violin Sonata in E minor, op.
82. I felt that Bisengaliev played these respectfully and with
great expertise. The well known Chanson de Matin and
Chanson de Nuit achieve a nostalgic charm, as does Salut
d’Amour, Elgar’s first real success. As well as pieces originally
written for violin and piano there are arrangements, mostly
by Elgar, of some of his other music such as the excerpts from
Scenes from the Bavarian Highlands, Sospiri, and
an interlude from the Crown of India suite. For solo
violin there are also five very difficult Etudes caracteristiques.
All this highly varied repertoire is played with great technical
assurance and sympathy by Bisengaliev and Benjamin Frith. This
music is ideal for playing late at night or just relaxing.
The Violin Sonata takes us back to something approaching the
emotional volatility of the Concerto, although on a much smaller
canvas. The unsettled beginning of the first movement gives
way to a lyrical second subject; there is also a rather ambiguous
extended arpeggio figure. As with the Concerto, Bisengaliev
showed a free treatment of tempo, with an intuitive sense of
when to let the music breathe. The second movement has quite
an exploratory character. The pizzicato figures at the beginning
of the second movement did not register very much; Bisengaliev’s
beautiful legato playing was again entrancing, rising to an
expressive climax. I felt the finale was neither quite cohesive,
nor sufficiently contrasted with the first two movements. Bisengaliev’s
duo playing with Frith was of a high standard throughout, although
his tone was a bit more wiry than in the Concerto.
Competition is as almost as stiff for the Sonata as it was for
the Concerto, with many distinguished versions having been recorded.
Chief among these is Nigel Kennedy’s wonderful 1984 recording
(review),
and (my personal favourite) Maxim Vengerov’s passionate 2000
reading, coupled with the Dvorák concerto. Vengerov makes more
of the arpeggio figure in the first movement, and achieves a
greater sense of relaxation in the finale after the intensity
of the first two movements, just as Elgar intended.
A fine and captivating recording of the concerto with the salon
music and the sonata the icing on the cake. Another terrific
bargain from Naxos.
Guy Aron
Earlier reviews by Ian Lace of CD
2 and CD
3 when first issued by Black Box.
Full track-listing
CD 1
Violin Concerto in B minor op.61. [46:07]
Serenade for Strings in E minor op.20. [11:30]
CD 2
Romance, op. 1. [5:05]
Mazurka [2:50]
Bizarrerie, op. 13 no. 2 [2:33]
Serenade [2:32]
Idylle, op. 4 no. 1 [3:24]
Chanson de matin, op. 15 no. 2 [3:06]
Chanson de nuit, op. 15 no. 1 [4:12]
La capricieuse, op. 17 [4:21]
Gavotte [5:11]
Salut d'amour, op. 12 [2:54]
Etude-caprice [3:53]
May Song [3:28]
Virelai, op. 4 no. 3 [2:52]
In Hammersbach (Scenes from the Bavarian Highlands, no. 2) [2:52]
Carissima [3:06]
Adieu [2:47]
Etudes caracteristiques pour violon seul:
Etude A [2:36]
Etude B [1:40]
Etude C [1:22]
Etude D [3:05]
Etude E [2:55]
CD 3
Elévation, op. 11 [4:36]
Pastourelle, op. 4 no. 2 [2:54]
Bavarian Dance no.3 [4:45]
Bavarian Dance no.1 [4:06]
Sospiri, op. 70 [4:06]
Petite Reine – Berceuse [3:28]
Polonaise in D minor (ed. Christopher Polyblank) [4:39]
Dreaming [2:36]
Mot d'amour, op. 13 no. 1 [1:59]
Valse on Themes by Elgar (completed by Christopher Polyblank) [2:31]
Reminiscences [2:10]
Interlude from 'The Crown of India', op. 66 [2:16]
Allegretto: Duet on a theme of GEDGE [3:58]
Violin Sonata in E minor, op. 82;
Allegro [8:10]
Romance [7:45]
Allegro no troppo [8:29]
Fugue for Violin and Oboe [1:43]
Marat Bisengaliev (violin) 
