Despite a difference
of fifty years between them, Ferras
and Ansermet were bound by the strongest
of musical ties, and most especially
in the concertos on this CD. The chemistry
which attracted both of them to these
composers, and to each other as champions
of their music, is self-evident from
these passionate performances. As such
this issue should be of wide interest
to collectors.
The recording of the
Berg is in good mono although the orchestra
does quite a good job of hiding behind
Ferras’s Stradivarius on occasion. The
performance is white-hot however, and
the youthful Ferras is on excellent
form. The CD booklet is nicely presented,
with a variety of photos of Ferras in
action at all ages. It is also informative
about his tragically truncated career,
and about his profound feeling for the
heartbreaking story behind Berg’s masterpiece.
Ferras played this concerto on many
occasions all over the world. That sense
of his having the piece ‘under his skin’
comes over explicitly in this recording.
The booklet quotes Alöys Mooser’s
review of the concert on 3 April, which
sums up Ferras’s achievement: ‘…the
real beauty of his playing is rooted
in his astounding sensitivity, intelligence
and sovereign authority. The young French
violinist has an innate sense of expression
that one rarely observes in artists
of his age.’
Nine years later, and
the Stravinsky possesses a little more
stereo information and range, but of
course neither of these recordings are
‘hi-fi’ by current, or even contemporary
studio standards. The balance is a little
better here however, and the quicksilver
orchestration of the accompaniment comes
across well enough. That said, this
is very much Ferras’s performance. He
had in 1966 only recently taken the
Stravinsky piece into his repertoire,
and this helps give the concerto a freshly-minted
feel. His emotional expression in the
third Aria II is almost impossible
to bear – he manages to wring out a
disturbing amount of grief which goes
beyond poignancy, as if singing for
every soul lost in war.
This is both specialist
and non-specialist terrain. Fans of
Ferras will want it as a matter of course,
but collectors will be hard put to find
performances or recordings of either
of these works which exceed this unique
violinist’s expressive abilities. I
take note of past criticism of his sometimes
abrasive tone and fast vibrato, but
find myself impressed and amazed by
the variety of colour in these performances.
The vibrato question is one of taste,
even of fashion, and I find it perfectly
natural in this setting – especially
since Ferras’s intonation is superbly
accurate, especially in the Berg. Despite
the admitted sonic drawbacks and the
brevity of the content this CD represents
historical documents of a renowned artist
at the top of his form in two of the
best violin concerti ever written. As
such it creates its own strong demands
for a place in the catalogue.
Dominy Clements
Christian Ferras (violin) 
