Elgar, Bruch Violin Concertos

Chronique

Chicago-based violinist Rachel Barton Pine has recorded thematic albums, early music, rediscoveries, tributes to Sarasate and other virtuoso music -- almost everything, in fact, other than warhorse, late-Romantic concertos. That lacuna in her output is remedied here with two famed concert showpieces, with Andrew Litton and the BBC Symphony Orchestra backing Pine. The Elgar Violin Concerto in B minor, Op. 61, comes with an interesting story: Pine planned to record the album with Sir Neville Marriner as conductor, and he in turn relayed to her performance insights given him by his teacher, Billy Reed, who worked with Elgar on the creation of the concerto. With that background, plus Pine's commitment to the work -- she claims to have marked up 89 difficult passages in the score and singled them out for practice -- the concerto crackles and sizzles. Sample the finale, where Pine keeps the long line going amid the spectacular arpeggios. The Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26, is perhaps not quite as successful, although it is a work Pine has often performed in concert. In place of the rich tone violinists since Joseph Joachim have brought to the concerto, Pine stretches out melodic lines that might be better left to speak for themselves, amplified, but not altered by the violinist. For the Elgar, however, this album is worth your time and money: Pine's performance is in the very top ranks.
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