Search - Johannes Brahms, Joseph Joachim, Carlos Kalmar :: Brahms, Joachim: Violin Concertos

One of the best ever of the Brahms!

Timothy R. O'Hanlon | Hawaii | 09/23/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For me, the Adagio movement of the Brahms Violin Concerto is clearly about "tuning" or "attunement". It is constructed around or evolves out of four notes, which I'm guessing, if properly sustained, a string player could use to tune his or her instrument. String players generally tune their instruments by listening to one another; tuning requires that the notes be sustained long enough for the players, so one can hear the overtones or harmonics. For the listener, tuning has to do with the ear and how one hears the notes; attunement has to do with the heart and how it "feels" or resonates with the harmonics. When a violinist / conductor rushes this movement, as most do, the notes are dampened and not allowed to fully "bloom". The music may be well performed but is not as emotionally or intellectually "satisfying" as it could have been. Rachel Barton Pine's performance of this movement is the most "satisying" that I have ever heard; quite frankly, it is nothing short of heavenly! The other movements of the Brahms and Joachim Concerto are also masterfully interpreted and performed.

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