EMI
Classics state that their Great Recordings of the Century series
features re-mastered recordings using the latest advances in
audio technology. This mono coupling dates from the mid-1940s
and first went through digital re-mastering in 2005.
The featured violinist on this EMI Classics set is Ginette Neveu
who was a completely new name to me. Neveu was born in Paris
into a musical family and as a child prodigy made her solo debut
aged seven appearing in Paris with the Colonne Orchestra under
Gabriel Pierné. She was related to the composer and organist
Charles-Marie Widor and her brother Jean-Paul Neveu became a
classical pianist. Initially taught by her mother, she studied
under the tutelage of Line Talluel; Jules Boucherit at the Paris
Conservatoire and also with George Enescu; Nadia Boulanger and
Carl Flesch.
1n
1935 Neveu became a celebrity when aged fifteen she trounced
over 180 rivals to win first prize at the prestigious Henryk
Wieniawski Violin Competition at Warsaw. The standard must have
been exceedingly high as David Oistrakh from Odessa in the Ukraine
(then in Russia), who would go on to become a world famous virtuoso,
could only achieve second place. Neveu was immediately signed
up for extensive concert tours that took her all over the world.
Her international career was unsurprisingly interrupted by the
Second World War and she was mainly confined to living in Paris.
She was not able to make her London debut until 1945. Tragically
her career ended in 1949 when on a concert tour her plane flew
into a mountain whilst attempting to land at the island of São
Miguel in the Azores.
Brahms
wrote his Violin Concerto in 1878 with expert guidance
from his friend Joseph Joachim the eminent violinist. Joachim
was the dedicatee and premiered the score on New Year’s Day
in 1879 in Leipzig. Hubert Foss described the score as, “…a
song for the violin on a symphonic scale - a lyrical outpouring
which nevertheless exercises to the full his great powers of
inventive development.” The score is one of the most
glorious of all the violin concertos in the repertoire and certainly
one of the most admired. To give an indication of the popularity
of the Brahms score the ‘www.musica.co.uk’ website on their
chart of the ‘Top 100 Classical Works’, apparently based on
data from UK and USA performances and CD sales, places the score
as the fourth most popular violin concerto in the UK and the
third on the USA chart.
During
three days in August 1946 Neveu and the Philharmonia under Russian
conductor Issay Dobrowen attended the Abbey Road Studios in
London to record the Brahms concerto. The mono sound quality
is reasonably acceptable. However I have many far older recordings
in my collection with much better sonics than this and I can’t
help thinking of the many superb historical recordings that
the eminent restoration engineers Mark Obert-Thorn and Michael
J. Dutton have successfully restored.
In
the massive opening Allegro non troppo the approach is
direct but her degree of spirit can seem rather limited. Neveu
is controlled and lyrical in the central Adagio with
playing that seems to lack a touch of passion compared to some
of the leading versions. I was not entirely convinced by the
Finale. Her playing is attractive and warm yet it all
felt rather lacklustre as if she was keeping a quantity of vitality
in reserve. This Neveu account has achieved an amount of critical
success, as for example in the ‘Penguin Guide’, but her interpretation
left me rather underwhelmed, especially in view of the high
quality of many of the rivals.
There
are a substantial number of excellent accounts of the Brahms
and I have over a dozen recommendable versions in my own collection.
If I had to whittle my choices down to just three they would
be: Nathan Milstein and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra under
William Steinberg recorded at Pittsburgh in 1953/54 for his
commanding and compelling inspired playing. This is available
as one of the Great Recordings of the Century on EMI Classics
5 67583 2. Milstein’s coupling of his commanding account of
the Beethoven Violin Concerto makes this a quite magnificent
and extremely desirable release. Pinchas Zukerman with
the Orchestre de Paris under Daniel Barenboim for his deeply
passionate and highly controlled 1979 Paris performance on Deutsche
Grammophon ‘Classikon’ 439 405-2. Jascha Heifetz with the Chicago
Symphony Orchestra under Fritz Reiner in a characterful and
searching performance recorded in Chicago in 1955 on RCA Victor
Red Seal 09026 61742 2. It seems a terrible shame not to include
the following six sets, such is the exceptional standard, as
any one of them would provide great enjoyment, but it would
be remiss of me not to mentioned them: Maxim Vengerov with the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Daniel Barenboim on Teldec
0630-17144-2; Joshua Bell with the Cleveland Orchestra under
Christoph von Dohnányi on Decca London 444 811-2 or Decca 475
670-3; Itzhak Perlman with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under
Carlo Maria Giulini on a ‘Great Recordings of the Century’ EMI
5 66977 2; Gil Shaham with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
under Claudio Abbado on Deutsche Grammophon 469 529-2; Anne-Sophie
Mutter with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Herbert
von Karajan on 445 515-2 and David Oistrakh and the French National
Radio Orchestra under Otto Klemperer on EMI Encore 5 74724-2.
Sibelius
was an excellent violinist who at one time auditioned as a player
for the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and in 1903 composed his
Violin Concerto. At the hurriedly arranged premiere a substitute
soloist proved ill-prepared. The concerto was poorly received
prompting Sibelius to withdraw the score and make substantial
revisions. In 1905 the revised version was introduced by Karl
Halir with Richard Strauss conducting. I understand that it
was as late as the 1930s before Jascha Heifetz revived the work
and finally the true quality of the score was displayed
to the music world.
It
was on a single day in the winter of 1945 that Neveu recorded
the Sibelius at London’s Abbey Road Studios with the Philharmonia
under Prague-born conductor Walter Süsskind. Walter Legge, the
producer of the session, recalls that on the day of the recording
London was enveloped in an exceptionally dense fog. The mono
sound quality is superior to Neveu’s recording of the Brahms
concerto, yet it may still prove a drawback for some listeners
who prefer to hear modern digital sound.
In
the extended and complex Allegro moderato Neveu’s playing
sounds rather routine to my ears, failing to provide sufficient
spontaneity and drive. There is certainly no suspicion of any
dark and sinister undertones. The central Adagio di molto
has far too much restraint, requiring an infusion of intensity
and darkly burning passion. Neveu in the Allegro ma non tanto
has a refined character to her playing but where is the
vigour, the spirit and the passion? The Finale, once
described by Sibelius as a “danse macabre”, in the hands
of Neveu feels more like a summer’s day stroll through a cornfield.
Again this performance has received critical acclaim from some
quarters but I do not feel that there is anything outstanding
here to merit the plaudits.
The
Sibelius concerto continues to become increasingly popular
with performers and audiences alike, and the catalogues contain
many fine recordings. My particular favourite version is from
the inspirational Cho-Liang Lin with the Philharmonia under
Esa-Pekka Salonen in an exciting, authoritative and highly expressive
performance. The release is from Sony Theta SMK89748. I also
greatly admire the fresh, robust and steadfast account from
Nigel Kennedy with the CBSO under Simon Rattle recorded in Warwick
in 1987 on EMI Classics CDC 7 54127 2. I do not have a copy
but I have heard exceptional reports of the 1985 release from
Viktoria Mullova and the Boston Symphony under Seiji Ozawa on
Philips 464 741-2.
A
fascinating release from EMI Classics featuring the talents
of Ginette Neveu, a performer whose life was tragically cut
short, possibly before her prime. I don’t feel that there is
anything remarkable here to trouble the extremely fierce competition
in these two masterworks.
Michael Cookson
Ginette Neveu (violin)
