From the very first
this disc – or rather, the violinist
featured on it - threatened to be ones
of those rather dreaded publicity-creations
(Charlotte Church-esque media-hyped
upstart musicians of mediocre talent
– to put it rather bluntly!), and to
a fair extent the musical content confirmed
the immediate impressions. For a start,
it is not a disc that one would purchase
for the music featured. It is rather
strangely programmed with disparate
works ‘united’ by the tenuous thematic
connection of Bach. This is surely only
designed to show off the virtuosic skills
of the soloist rather than to showcase
any particular composer, period, style
or programmatic intent. The message
is instantaneously clear - this is to
promote the violinist rather than the
music. A large picture of the violinist
on the front (and indeed more photos
throughout the notes), the lack of a
list of the pieces played in the fairly
poor and unimpressively-composed sleeve-notes,
and almost as much information about
the violinist as about the music / composers
certifies this.
So then, we ask, what
brilliant skills, what ne’er-plumbed
depths of emotion, what new interpretation
or astounding vitality can this violinist
- the German-Japanese Mirijam Contzen
- bring to these works? The answer is
that she provides nothing innovative,
superlative or exceptional. To say bog-standard
performances of bog-standard repertoire
would be doing this disc an injustice
as the music featured here is fairly
adventurous. The pieces are all, admittedly,
very well played, but no better than
could be found elsewhere.
Contzen opens with
Bach’s Partita No. 3. This is,
as could perhaps be expected, technically
very accomplished, but not particularly
musically performed. Contzen plays with
a nice simple style that is very suitable
for Bach, but without the soul and spirituality
that radiates through all of Bach’s
compositions. At times Contzen rushes
- both the opening movement (Preludio)
and (even more so) the Bourée
are too hurried, and she does not create
any changes in tone or character throughout
the piece. In the Menuets she
seems quite restricted by the bar lines,
and her articulation is too abrupt and
exaggerated in the Gigue.
Contzen follows the
Bach with the totally different Le
Serpent by Tibor Varga, performed
in a suitably serpentine manner. Given
that the sleeve notes describe Varga
as "practically the sole teacher"
of Contzen, it is as well that this
is so convincingly and adeptly played!
Contzen moves on to
the notoriously difficult but beautifully
atmospheric Sonata for Solo Violin
by Bartók. This is more of
a mixed bag. The opening movement is
again technically sound but distinctly
lacking in musicality, with very few
contrasts, whilst the second movement,
on the other hand, is excellent, and
probably the best track on the entire
CD. The third moment lacks emotion,
but the final Presto is proficient
and vivid, with the folk music influences
in particular being extremely effectively
educed.
I was delighted to
hear a little more emotion creeping
in Stravinsky’s ensuing Élegie,
which is played persuasively and powerfully
with a pleasingly rich and dark tone.
Ysaye’s Sonate Op.
27 No. 4 is a good piece to conclude
the disc, especially since the CD commences
with Bach, and so much of Ysaye's music
is based upon Bach. It is also wonderful
to here find one of his lesser-known
works promoted. There are nice touches
in the Ysaye - the fiendishly difficult
pizzicato in the second movement is
brilliantly accomplished, for example
- yet there is still not enough contrast,
emotion or depth to the music.
So, unfortunately,
I felt that my fears were realised in
this disc. All of these pieces are fairly
polished, and the playing is very competent,
yet the music isn't allowed to grab
one. It lacks a sense of musicality,
passion and soul. The works chosen are
mostly showy party-pieces, designed
to demonstrate virtuosity rather than
to speak to one. Not a disc I would
personally recommend, but of its kind
(publicity-machine compilation disc),
it is probably one of the better.
Em Marshall
Mirijam
Contzen (violin) 
