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MAx Bruch Archive

BRUCH: Violin Concerto No. 2; Konzerstueck; In Memorium; Adagio appassionato – BBC Scottish Sym./Martyn Brabbins – Hyperion

by Audiophile Audition | Jan 16, 2017 | Classical CD Reviews

Max Bruch occupies Vol. 21 of The Romantic Violin Concerto, and with just cause. BRUCH: Violin Concerto No. 2 in d, Op. 44; Konzertstueck in f-sharp, Op. 84; In Memoriam in c-sharp, Op. 65; Adagio appassionato in f, Op. 57 – Jack Liebeck, v./ BBC Scottish Sym. Orch./ Martyn Brabbins – Hyperion CDA 68055, 68:21 (1/6/17) [Distr. by PIAS] ****: Jack Liebeck’s recording (10-11 Dec. 2014) extends Hyperion’s The Romantic Violin Concerto series (as Volume 21), here with Max Bruch’s 1877 Second Concerto, a work known to us primarily through the efforts of Jascha Heifetz and Itzhak Perlman. The inspirational force for this alternately lyrical and stentorian piece, Pablo de Sarasate (1844-1908), had worked with Bruch at the Frankfurt and Wiesbaden premieres of the g minor Concerto. The opening movement, in sonata form, casts two opposing ideas after having begun with a mournful Adagio. Some elegant work in the French horns accompanies Liebeck’s suave arioso. His instrument, by the way, soars as only the “Ex-Wilhelmj” Guadagnini of 1785 can. The martial elements move heavily, processional in a tonal syntax similar to that of Mendelssohn. The second movement Recitativo: Allegro moderato might claim Louis Spohr as its spiritual godfather, especially his […]

SVENDSEN: String Octet in A Major; BRUCH: String Octet – Tharice Virtuosi – Claves

by Audiophile Audition | Mar 17, 2016 | Classical CD Reviews

Two octets of impressive scale receive intimately ardent renditions in these 2011 performances. SVENDSEN: String Octet in A Major, Op. 3; BRUCH: String Octet in B-flat Major, Op. posth. – Tharice Virtuosi – Claves 50-1207, 67:38 (6/8/12) [Distr. by Albany] ****: Given the current amount of attention allotted to violinist and pedagogue Yehudi Menuhin (1916-1999), this disc of energetic octets from the ensemble Tharice Virtuosi – founded in 2007 – seems appropriate, since these musicians assembled through the Menuhin Music Academy Gstaad. The performances (rec. 21-23 August 2011) come to us via the Swiss label in luminously pungent sound, courtesy of Recording Producer and Editor Andreas Werner. Johan Svendsen (1840-1911) stands as Norway’s second greatest composer, after Edvard Grieg. Svendsen’s imposing 1866 String Octet takes several of its compositional cues from the archetypal example of Mendelssohn’s Op. 20. The opening Allegro risoluto ben marcato alternates youthful exuberance with intimate lyricism, the secondary theme’s favoring the tenor and bass instruments. Studies at the Leipzig Conservatory guarantee Svendsen’s comfort with sonata-form. Some of the melodic tissue broadens out in a manner reminiscent of Dvorak. The chordal unison as we approach the coda proves effective, as does the writing for the higher register […]