Britten & Hindemith: Violin Concertos

Album review

There are few clearer demonstrations of the high level of technical ability among violinists today than the profusion of good recordings of Benjamin Britten's Violin Concerto, Op. 15, which Jascha Heifetz said was unplayable, but which is confidently taken on here by Arabella Steinbacher, accompanied by the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin under Vladimir Jurowski. It is indeed a fearsome virtuoso essay, one of the few Britten wrote. One factor recommending this version over others is the pairing with Paul Hindemith's Violin Concerto, not a work commonly heard in the 21st century. It makes sense here: both concertos were composed in 1939, and the Britten has the flavor of a work prepared for the extroverted American market. The Hindemith has, perhaps, a different, more melancholy flavor of exile. Sample Steinbacher's performance in the slashing second movement of the Britten, where her perfect control does suggest Heifetz. The two concertos also both refer to Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61, both in their timpani strokes and in a more general relationship of soloist to orchestra; Jurowski's accompaniment is unusually sensitive and well-integrated with Steinbacher's lines. Pentatone's studio sound, rather eerily clear, is another major attraction.

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