So many Tchaikovsky violin concerto CDs, so little time. The
threshold for any new recording of this work is unbelievably
high, but the past decade has seen a few performers reach that
bar or even raise it: Julia Fischer and her distinctive reading
on PentaTone, Vadim Gluzman and his golden-toned romantic polish
on BIS, and last year a commanding performance by my favorite
living violinist, James Ehnes. This outing, a live recording
by Susanna Yoko Henkel and the Duisburg Philharmonic, is perfectly
good, but “perfectly good” does not mean “necessary”.
Doubts set in at the beginning, where the orchestral introduction
proceeds too slowly. Indeed, Henkel and conductor Jonathan Darlington
will take risks and enter appreciably into the excitement of
the live atmosphere, but any moments of individuality or novel
phrasing tend to be momentary slowings-down rather than dramatic
flourishes. There’s a lot of indulgence of the second
subject, for instance. Still, I did enjoy the first movement
quite a bit. Henkel’s canzonetta is a showcase for her
beautiful tone and emotional command, although I yearn for softer,
more sensitive playing in some passages. The finale’s
fast episodes are exciting but the slower ones again trip up
the momentum. It’s a performance which shows that Susanna
Yoko Henkel is quite good, but it’s also a performance
you’d be much more likely to enjoy in concert than on
disc.
The Tallis Fantasia suffers from a similar good-but-not-greatness.
The opening chords reveal some weakness in the first violins,
but fears based on that are unfounded: Jonathan Darlington has
the full measure of this music, and it’s really a terrific
performance from there on out, with a marvellous viola solo
(the violin is harsher) and a glorious climax after 10:00. The
Duisburg Philharmonic strings, while not always technically
up to snuff, have obviously got the spirit of the music very
right.
This CD, from the Acousence label, is part of the “Living
Concert Series”, “planned to provide … a true
‘Concert’ experience”. This aim is supported
by their use of live recordings. It’s also aided by truly
superb liner-notes which actually exceed what you would get
at most performances. The aim is, however, rather hindered by
the way they’ve put their philosophy into practice. For
one thing, to have a major concerto followed by a rather sizeable
orchestral encore is to create a program one would never see
in concert. This is just 52 minutes of music. It would make
more sense to present the Vaughan Williams, then the concerto,
then a twenty-five minute symphony.
For another thing, these recordings do not even come from the
same concert! The Tallis Fantasia was recorded in late
2009 and the concerto five months later. The sound quality is,
I’ll admit, as good as it gets for live recordings, though
certainly not about to leave the sound of, say, the LPO or CSO
Resound labels in the dust. As a “true ‘Concert’
experience” this is somewhat lacking. Use your stereo
equipment, or computer’s CD burning software, to assemble
a program of Leonid Kogan’s live Tchaikovsky and John
Barbirolli’s or André Previn’s Vaughan Williams;
that will save your cash.
Brian Reinhart
Masterwork Index: Tallis
Fantasia ~~ Tchaikovsky
violin concerto
Susanna Yoko Henkel (violin) 