BRAHMS: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77; Double Concerto for Violin, Cello and Orchestra in A Minor, Op. 102 = David Nadien, violin/Leonard Rose, cello/ The Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra (Op. 77)/Vilem Sokol/ Stratford Festival Orchestra/George Schick
Cembal d’amour CD 146, 69:37 [Distr. by Qualiton] ****:
Producer Mordecai Shehori once more–his seventh CD–celebrates the rare art of violinist David Nadien (b. 1926) in previously-unpublished performances from summer festivals: the Brahms Violin Concerto (1973) and the Double Concerto (18 July 1968), the latter of which magnifies the occasion by teaming Nadien with cello virtuoso Leonard Rose (1918-1984).
The Brahms Violin Concerto projects a fierce drive from all participants, the level of virtuosity on a par with both Milstein and Heifetz, especially the former, who also likes to push the Brahms for a feline propulsion that grudgingly yields to the work’s grand lyricism en passant. The Brahms penchant for brief exchanges by way of sequences Nadien handles with a coy panache; but he attacks the large phrases with a wickedly feral energy, so that he and conductor Sokol eventually create a spectacular chord on which Nadien can begin his wild, Kreisler cadenza. The cadenza itself indulges in bravura tremolando effects and double stops, much in the manner of a Paganini caprice. A stratospheric trill brings us back to the bassoon and string aura that leads to an exquisitely diaphanous etched coda.
The F Major Adagio enjoys a lovely oboe solo, bassoon, horns, and strings accompanying, that provides a foundation for a tender cantilena from Nadien, the nasal tone and thin plastic line much in the Heifetz mold. The latter occurrence of the theme, in collaboration of solo violin and French horn, benefits from the restrained warmth Nadien commands when his fondness for a score reigns. The Rondo Sokol takes at a moderate tempo, ma non vivace, as Brahms indicates. Even so, Nadien’s pyrotechnics evidence themselves in quick alternations of bow strokes and shifts in registration. The propulsion, matched by brandished-steel tonal accuracy becomes quite thrilling. The moments of counterpoint and stretto pile up, climax, and then drive us once more forward into quasi-Hungarian breach. The brief accompanied cadenza leads to a martial episode not too far from Beethoven’s “Fate” motif. The sparks in the coda suggest Nadien could play the whole concerto over again, in a heartbeat.
Leonard Rose makes his presence felt at the outset of the Double Concerto, a rich and mellifluous tone and breathed phrasing. His broad approach suggests that the first movement Allegro will become a huge vista, and Nadien’s entry confirms the endearments of their dialogue. Their combined energies take us to the tutti, which conductor Schick milks in the lyrico-dramatic manner of Bruno Walter. As the lines evolve and congeal, the innate tonal warmth of the principals makes the Brahms an intimate experience mounted on a grand scale. The dialogues assume a natural chamber music ambiance, and Schick subdues the orchestral tissue to maintain the concertante effect. When the flute part converges on the twain, the colors quite overpower us. Schick nicely graduates the almost metronomic pulse to the coda, the two principals vying in intensity in the main theme while the Festival tympanist makes his own points.
The Andante, subdued and autumnal, features some of the composer’s most delicate scoring. In D Major, the music often alludes to the F-A-F motif that bound Brahms to his friend Joseph Joachim and again to cellist Robert Hausmann. The rather pentatonic tune often dissolves the downbeat, and we bask in a romantic haze provided by the soloists and the aural web of the orchestra. The rather Haydnesque gypsy rondo that concludes this towering work posts double and triple stops for each of the principals, but the ardent flow of the music rarely slows down simply for bravura effects. Both Nadien and Rose dig deeply into their respective strings, and the tonal effect becomes magnanimous, in the spirit of reconciliation the concerto was supposed to offer Joachim. The central section itself becomes a minor rondo-within-a-sonata-form, the music eventually brightening to A Major. Excellent support from Schick’s woodwinds and horns to vivify the melodic strains in this epically driven performance, a real tour de force for all participants.
–Gary Lemco
