MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2023
Approaching 60,000 reviews
and more.. and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             


CD REVIEW

Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger

alternatively
Crotchet  AmazonUK   AmazonUS

 

Great Norwegian Performers 1945-2000 – Volume 3
Alexander GLAZUNOV (1865 - 1936)
Violin Concerto in A Op. 82 (1905) [20:57]
Ralph VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1872-1958)
The Lark Ascending (1914) [15:26]
Johannes BRAHMS (1833-1897)
Violin Sonata No. 1 in G major Op. 78 (1878-79) – first movement [11:21]
Bjarne BRUSTAD (1895-1978)
Suite for solo violin (1969) [8:59]
Pablo SARASATE (1844-1908)
Malagueña Op. 21 No. 1 (1875) [4:32]
Camilla Wicks (violin)
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra/Karsten Andersen
Robert Levin (piano)
rec. Glazunov and Vaughan Williams in concert, January 1985,  Brahms in June 1975, Brustad in July 1969, Sarasate in November 1950
SIMAX PSC1832 [61:22]
Experience Classicsonline


This is a disc that serves two invaluable functions. Firstly, rather more prosaically, it’s volume three in Simax’s Great Norwegian Performers 1945-2000 series. And secondly it stands as a royal salute to the great Camilla Wicks, in this, her eightieth year. 
 
One of the best recent discs devoted to her was issued by Biddulph (see review) but there really can’t be enough. And this is where Simax is proving so invaluable, reminding us of Wicks’s importance as an artist. I have also reviewed an earlier Simax release of her Walton concerto and Bjarne Brustad’s Violin Concerto No. 4.
 
The Glazunov Concerto and The Lark Ascending derive from the same 1985 concert in which she was accompanied by the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and Karsten Andersen. It would have been fascinating to have heard her Glazunov in the 1950s when she made her splendid recording of the Sibelius, now on Biddulph, when she was at her most fervent tonally. Her playing with the Bergen orchestra is nevertheless tremendously attractive; unforced, unpressed tempo-wise, taking twenty-one minutes in a work that, say, Heifetz and Milstein tended to dispatch in eighteen to eighteen and a half. This is playing that is subtly tinted and voiced though it can’t be denied that her vibrato has slackened. The highlight is probably the lightly elegant finale. As a footnote don’t be misled by the mis-tracking in the Andante; the return to the tempo primo seems to have confused someone which accounts for a separately tracked cadenza.
 
The Lark Ascending is not played, as so often by virtuosi, as an opportunity for soupy expression and succulent reserves of vibrato. The recording is quite close and once or twice Wicks’s intonation buckles and we don’t get therefore the ideal sense of space or perspective; as a result the lark is still in close focus as it ascends – no recession skywards. The single movement from Brahms’ Op.78 sonata is with Robert Levin in 1975. It’s very laid back indeed, lyrical and introspective, not quite embracing torpor, though there are hints of her more fiery Sibelian temperament from time to time. A pity about the lack of the rest – were the other movements recorded? Then there’s Brustad’s solo violin sonata, written for her, and played here in 1969. Brustad alludes to Bach – to the Chaconne as much as anything else from the Sonatas and Partitas – and crafts a most delightful and freewheeling work. There are plenty of introspective vistas, as well as vigorous folk-like moments too – try the second half of the second movement. With its reach extending from vibrant naturalness and contrapuntal reflection perhaps Brustad has summoned up something of the violinist’s own spirit – elemental yet expressive.  As an envoi we go right back to 1950. Once more Levin is on hand to accompany in Sarasate’s Malagueña. She recorded this at around the same time for Columbia with an unnamed accompanist – this and other sides surfaced on the Biddulph CD. This NRK radio broadcast is in better sound and features some fine, teasing rubati and rich tone.
 
There are some excellent photographs in the concise booklet notes. There must be many more Wicks broadcasts in the NRK archives and this writer cries out for a series sub-division to celebrate her art yet further.
 
Jonathan Woolf  
 


 


Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing

 

 


EXPLORE MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL

Making a Donation to MusicWeb

Writing CD reviews for MWI

About MWI
Who we are, where we have come from and how we do it.

Site Map

How to find a review

How to find articles on MusicWeb
Listed in date order

Review Indexes
   By Label
      Select a label and all reviews are listed in Catalogue order
   By Masterwork
            Links from composer names (eg Sibelius) are to resource pages with links to the review indexes for the individual works as well as other resources.

Themed Review pages

Jazz reviews

 

Discographies
   Composer
      Composer surveys
   National
      Unique to MusicWeb -
a comprehensive listing of all LP and CD recordings of given works
.
Prepared by Michael Herman

The Collector’s Guide to Gramophone Company Record Labels 1898 - 1925
Howard Friedman

Book Reviews

Complete Books
We have a number of out of print complete books on-line

Interviews
With Composers, Conductors, Singers, Instumentalists and others
Includes those on the Seen and Heard site

Nostalgia

Nostalgia CD reviews

Records Of The Year
Each reviewer is given the opportunity to select the best of the releases

Monthly Best Buys
Recordings of the Month and Bargains of the Month

Comment
Arthur Butterworth Writes

An occasional column

Phil Scowcroft's Garlands
British Light Music articles

Classical blogs
A listing of Classical Music Blogs external to MusicWeb International

Reviewers Logs
What they have been listening to for pleasure

Announcements

 

Community
Bulletin Board

Give your opinions or seek answers

Reviewers
Past and present

Helpers invited!

Resources
How Did I Miss That?

Currently suspended but there are a lot there with sound clips


Composer Resources

British Composers

British Light Music Composers

Other composers

Film Music (Archive)
Film Music on the Web (Closed in December 2006)

Programme Notes
For concert organizers

External sites
British Music Society
The BBC Proms
Orchestra Sites
Recording Companies & Retailers
Online Music
Agents & Marketing
Publishers
Other links
Newsgroups
Web News sites etc

PotPourri
A pot-pourri of articles

MW Listening Room
MW Office

Advice to Windows Vista users  
Questionnaire    
Site History  
What they say about us
What we say about us!
Where to get help on the Internet
CD orders By Special Request
Graphics archive
Currency Converter
Dictionary
Magazines
Newsfeed  
Web Ring
Translation Service

Rules for potential reviewers :-)
Do Not Go Here!
April Fools




Return to Review Index

Untitled Document


Reviews from previous months
Join the mailing list and receive a hyperlinked weekly update on the discs reviewed. details
We welcome feedback on our reviews. Please use the Bulletin Board
Please paste in the first line of your comments the URL of the review to which you refer.