TCHAIKOVSKY: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35; DVORAK: Violin Concerto in A Minor, Op. 53 – Ida Haendel, violin/Stuttgart Radio-Symphony Orchestra/ Hans Mueller-Kray – Hanssler

by | May 12, 2010 | Classical Reissue Reviews | 0 comments

TCHAIKOVSKY: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35; DVORAK: Violin Concerto in A Minor, Op. 53 – Ida Haendel, violin/Stuttgart Radio-Symphony Orchestra/ Hans Mueller-Kray

Hanssler CD 94.205, 64:58 [Distr. by Naxos] ****:


More valuable inscriptions from the legacy of Polish virtuoso Ida Haendel (b. 1928), taken from the archives of the SWR Stuttgart under Hans Mueller-Kray (1908-1969), in familiar repertory made newly exciting by the close application of Haendel’s considerable prowess and probing musicianship. Though Haendel plays the “standard” cut edition of the Tchaikovsky–which she had inscribed commercially twice, the first with Basil Cameron in 1946; the second with Sir Eugene Goossens 26 October 1953 (on Testament SBT 1038)–this version (8 January 1960) moves briskly yet self-possessed of an inward repose that infiltrates every measure. Haendel found her perfect instrument in an 1896 Stradivarius that allows her to balance personal ardor and poetic form. The G Minor Canzonetta derives a plastic lyrical benefit from Haendel’s applied ministrations, beautifully nuanced by the SWR wind and string choirs. The Finale: Allegro vivacissimo gallops at blinding speed without losing the essential Russian hopak character that sends sparks up and down our collective spines.

Haendel inscribed the Dvorak Concerto with Karl Rankl and the National Symphony Orchestra in 1947, preserved on the Dutton label (CDK 1204, which includes the Cameron collaboration in Tchaikovsky). Eighteen years later (21 September 1965) Haendel has subsumed the gypsy element in her interpretation to an intensely refined, measured vision of the piece, its warm folk and classical elements superbly harmonized.

The overtly rhapsodic character of the first movement, while taken rather literally, presents a charmingly bucolic vision that sings a paean to the delights of the natural world. Like her colleague Nathan Milstein, Haendel infuses the work with a radiant energy, a luster that shines for its tonal beauty and its sympathy for Dvorak’s innately songful character. The cantilena of the second movement breaks out in a brief storm rife with bravura display in Haendel’s double stops in league with the French horn; and the two instruments will combine again in the Adagio’s da capo for even more luminous colloquy. The last movement alternates furiant and dumka (trio), Bohemian dance forms that convey their own Slavonic colors, utilizing harp and tympani. An easy swagger informs this carefree movement in which not even the melancholy dumka can dispel the high abandon and seamless gloss of the performance.

–Gary Lemco

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