Robert SCHUMANN (1810-1856)
Violin Concerto in D minor, WoO 23 (1853) [30:07]
Violin Sonata No 1 in A minor, Op 105 (1851) [18:05]
Three Romances for Violin and Piano, Op 94 (1849) [13:01]
Kolja Blacher (violin)
Vassily Lobanov (piano)
Mahler Chamber Orchestra
rec. Teldex Studio, Siemensvilla, Berlin, 2007 (Concerto); Studio P4, Berlin, 2010 (Sonata, Romances)
PHILHARMONIE 06011 [61:13]
Schumann’s Violin Concerto always seems to have had a bad reputation for a number of reasons. His last orchestral composition, the concerto was never published in Schumann’s lifetime, had a checkered performance history, and has been considered weaker than his concertos for piano and cello. It’s true that it is not really violinistic, at least until the finale, with the violin largely playing in the middle of its register. It also does not contain a cadenza in any of the three movements. However, the concerto is filled with memorable themes and it has a unified structure. It sounds like mature Schumann and I prefer it to the Cello Concerto, which to me is thematically rather awkward. Anselm Cybinski goes into great detail in the booklet note on the history and structure, including the supposed weaknesses, of the work. Schumann, of course, was a pianist, and nothing can surpass his popular Piano Concerto among his concerted works.
Nonetheless, the Violin Concerto has received a number of successful recordings by such prominent violinists, as Joshua Bell with the Cleveland Orchestra under Dohnányi (Decca), Christian Tetzlaff and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony/Paavo Jürvi (Ondine), and Isabelle Faust with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra and Pablo Heras-Casado (Harmonia Mundi). Kolja Blacher holds his own with the best of these. He shows a real affinity for Schumann on this disc. I was heretofore impressed with his work as soloist in the Hindemith Kammermusik No. 4, as part of the series of those Hindemith concertos under Claudio Abbado and musicians of the Berlin Philharmonic (EMI), but this was the first time I have heard him in music of the Romantic period. He conducts as well as plays the Schumann concerto here. From the very beginning one can tell that this will be an exceptional account of the majestic first movement with its dotted rhythms. The tempos, while in the normal range, seem a bit quicker than some other accounts I have heard. Blacher tends to keep things as light and transparent as possible in this work and does not shortchange the lyrical elements either. He varies his tone from warm to brilliant as the music requires. Orchestral detail comes through well, particularly the horns and woodwinds, perhaps due to the size of the chamber orchestra. Blacher plays the song of the short second movement sweetly and poetically interweaving it with the cellos. He then maintains incisiveness in the rondo finale. This third movement under other hands can turn lumpy, but Blacher keeps its polonaise rhythm airborne putting the seal on a terrific performance. The rather bright sound, which nonetheless does not minimize the bass register, enhances the clarity of the recording.
The remainder of the disc is no less remarkable. Here he is accompanied by pianist Vassily Lobanov, who was new to me. They make a fine team in Schumann’s First Violin Sonata, another late work that has not taken the drubbing of the Violin Concerto. Schumann’s chamber music in general has been received positively and the sonata here is no exception. Its first movement typically for the composer contains a turbulent, Romantic theme contrasting with a lighter, more lyrical one, while the second movement starts gently followed by a scherzo-like rhythmic theme. Then the finale takes off swiftly, reminding me of the second movement of Schumann’s wonderful Piano Quartet, and the work concludes with a recollection of the main theme in the first movement. Blacher and Lobanov’s performance is superb. The Three Romances, Op. 94 finishing the programme are also typical of Schumann as a composer of songs, in this case without words. He originally conceived these for oboe and piano, but they were arranged for violin at the time of their first publication presumably by the composer. They have been recorded numerous times in both arrangements and in others as well. The Romances are beautifully rendered here by this team.
While it is usual to pair the Violin Concerto with another concerto, be it Mendelssohn’s or Brahms’s, making an all-Schumann disc only enhances the programme in my opinion. Kolja Blacher clearly identifies with the composer and excels in the works presented. I doubt that anyone seeking this particular combination of pieces will be disappointed in this release. One only wonders what took it so long to be released in the UK, while it has been available in the US for over ten years.
Leslie Wright
