Beethoven - Violin concerto / Symphony No 7

Presentación del Álbum

There's a lot to like as it goes by in this double-album Beethoven release by Montreal violinist Alexandre da Costa, Austrian conductor Johannes Wildner, and the Taipei Symphony Orchestra. (That's a nice globalized group, but you have seen nothing yet.) Wildner has a very sensitive touch in the slow movement of the Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92, and in the second theme areas of the first movement of the Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61, where he's ably assisted by da Costa's broad, gentle lines. The Taipei Symphony Orchestra certainly plays on a level with all but the very best in Europe, and the fresh internationalism of the whole concept fits well with the admirable marketing of the new Warner Classics label. But make no mistake: things get weird in the Violin Concerto. Note that in the booklet, Canadian composer Arat Ichmouratov is given fully equal billing with da Costa and the orchestra and conductor; on the outside of the packaging you have to look a bit more closely to see what you're getting into, and on the front cover/main graphic image there is no clue. What you're getting into is a giant "klezmer cadenza" in the first movement, plus a much smaller one at the end of the finale, composed by Ichmouratov. The reference is to the tonal material of klezmer music, not to the orchestration; da Costa plays alone, and the orchestra is not asked to imitate a klezmer band. It's hard to evaluate this beyond individual preferences, but a few observations are in order. There are two issues: the idea and the execution. The idea is defensible: certainly the violinists of the 19th century incorporated ethnic material in their cadenzas, although those specializing in the tradition coming from Beethoven would have done so less often. And the general opening-up of the cadenza as a sphere of individual and new engagement with the work is a good thing. The execution is a bit more problematic: the scale of the new cadenza seems to pull the listener out of Beethoven's world and overshadow the whole. The brief revisitation of the klezmer material at the end wraps up none of the open-ended questions that have been raised. That may be perfectly fine with you. But for many listeners this will be something of a work in progress.

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