Wonderful violin music and playing with Barton and Clement V
Gianluca La Villa | FERRARA, FE Italy | 10/12/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Rachel Barton Pine, a talented American young violinist, has done one of the best violin recordings I ever listend to, restating the forgotten Franz Clement Violin Concerto in D major (composed in 1805).
Clement was the dedicatee of Beethoven Violin Concerto, and for good!
The concerto is anterior to Beethoven's (which is of 1806) and many lines of it constituted an evident model for Beethoven score.
The last movement instead reminds us of the last movement of a famous Schubert Sonatina, composed by the way in 1816! This cast a good light on the prestige and reputation of Clement's playing and composing amidst his contemporaries now more famous than he is.
This music is particularly beautiful, and this concerto stands between the best ever written for the instrument.
I must say that also the Royal Philharmonic shows at its peak, and the direction by José Serebrier is simply masterful, in keeping a powerful though smooth sound and giving space to all the harmonic resources of both the instruments and the score.
Thank you Miss Barton for this unforgettable performance!"
Beautiful Coupling
B. F. Posner | New York, NY United States | 09/27/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"A beautiful coupling of the unknown Clement violin concerto and the justly celebrated Beethoven violin concerto. Both are expertly played and enjoyable to listen to. One can see why Beethoven was taken with Clement's ability."