MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2024
60,000 reviews
... and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

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

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

REVIEW Plain text for smartphones & printers

Support us financially by purchasing this disc from
Antonín DVOŘÁK (1841 - 1904)
Violin Concerto in A Minor, Op. 53, B108 (1884) [31:17]
Romance in F Minor Op. 11, B39 (1873-79) (1877) [12:18]
Mazurek in E minor, Op.49, B90 (1879) [6:41]
Violin Sonatina in G major, Op.100, B183 (1893) [18:11]
Slavonic Dance in G minor, Op.46 No.2, B83 (1878) [3:09]
Humoresque in G flat major, Op.101 No.7, B187 (1894) [3:07]
Thomas Albertus Irnberger (violin)
Prague Philharmonia/Petr Altrichter
Pavel Kašpar (piano)
rec. 2014, Domovina Studio, Prague; Mozartsaal, Salzburg
GRAMOLA SACD 99022 [76:24]

I have to say that I prefer Thomas Irnberger’s performance of Dvořák’s Concerto rather more than a number of fęted recent performances from better-known international soloists. He has the advantage of a native orchestra and conductor and this ensures that the rhythmic impulse of the work is well taken care of and, so too, the rustic dance elements. Whereas other conductors labour over bass lines – too Brucknerian – or allow too elastic an approach, Petr Altrichter is both sensible and sensitive. Irnberger’s impulses are almost always in the right direction. His opening phrase’s climactic note may be just a touch effortful and in one or two places he can appear just a touch over-prepared or a tiny bit perfunctory, but he establishes good tempi throughout and shows a resilience and characterful approach. He doesn’t wholly resist the tendency toward too much emotive throbbing in the slow movement, and elsewhere, but does manage to shape the line beautifully. I particularly like the way he deals with the folkloric episodes in the finale, where there’s plenty of village rusticity in his tone. Tonally, incidentally, he’s not always the most gleaming or beautiful of soloists. In fact his tone can be a touch rough in chording and his bowing energetic. Sometimes as well the lower strings sound a touch starved but only once or twice. He is above all a thoroughly communicative and gutsy player. Despite the quibbles, he maintains a rather Suk-like approach throughout and if neither he nor anyone else can match Vasa Příhoda’s intimate awareness of the concerto’s changeable moods and episodes, I like this performance’s honesty and whole-heartedness.

He plays the standard coupling, familiar from Suk, Perlman and others, which is the gorgeous Romance, Op.11 and it’s warmly phrased and of a piece with the Concerto. As a bonus in this violin-and-orchestra part of the disc, he and Altrichter also play the Mazurek, Op.49 which is much less-often encountered. The remainder of the programme is devoted to violin-and-piano pieces, and here he is joined by his regular sonata partner, the Czech pianist Pavel Kašpar. The recording venue here is the sympathetic one of the Mozartsaal, Salzburg. I’ve heard and liked Kašpar in Martinů – he recorded for Tudor where he was called Paul Kašpar - and he proves a laudable Dvořák player. The Sonatina is successfully played and the Larghetto, the movement Kreisler took and often played separately, is finely done. The two encore pieces, the Slavonic Dance in G minor and the ubiquitous Humoresque, finish this mini-recital in some style.

Doubtless some listeners might have wanted a Czech all-orchestral disc, adding – say – the Janáček Concerto and the Suk Fantasy, or maybe even one of the Foerster Concertos. However, the focus here falls squarely on Dvořák and the resultant SACD disc, well recorded in both locations and attractively annotated, allows one to appreciate Irnberger’s Dvořák in the round.

Jonathan Woolf




 



Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Chandos recordings
All Chandos 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