Search - Maxim Vengerov, Benjamin Britten, Sir William Walton :: Britten & Walton: Violin & Viola Concertos; Maxim Vengerov

Mesmerized by Vengerov's Britten

Daniel R. Greenfield | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States | 08/28/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Britten's violin concerto is right up there with the two Shostakovich violin concerti, and perhaps even better than they. There are indeed traces of the early and more daring Shostakovich in this work, but it is Britten's original genius throughout. In fact the work's premiere in 1940 caught much of the music establishment by surprise, since it was not the kind of music one would expect to hear coming from a 25 year-old who had a reputation of composing relatively lightweight works.



Vengerov gives a riveting performance. The first movement is darkly haunting: harrowing might even be a better term. Vengerov sucks the marrow out of this work; he is relentless. At the same time, his compatriot Rostropovitch plays the paternal role and gives the orchestra gentle, masterful guidance. The work ends, and one wonders: was this Schnittke? No, for in fact the work was composed when Schnittke was still a young child. Yet even in 1939 Britten had tapped into that dark rhizome of raw nerves that was later to so marvelously spread itself throughout the chamber music of Schnittke.



Walton's concerto for viola, though of a distinctly different flavor, is nonetheless on a par with most or all of Walton's other orchestral works: sophisticated, highly polished, modern, offering both style and substance. The work is of course in a more serious vein than one might be accustomed to hearing in Walton. And although it does not approach the pinnacle of Britten's concerto, it stands on its own as a strong and evocative work."

Vengerov shines in two compelling English concertos

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 06/21/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If EMI weren't a British-owned label, I doubt that two dyed-in-the-vodka Russians would have taken up Britten and Walton. How fortunate for us that they did. The Britten Violin Concerto is an original, engrossing work. The opening movement is mysterious and haunting, one of the greatest things from this period in Britten's career. Even though a prodigy, he was still searching for his unique voice in 1938. Without being able to name the specific influences -- Britten himself speaks of his revelatory encounter with the Berg concerto -- one feels that Britten is weaving about until he hits on strikingly original moments, such as the shadowy, tango-like plucked passage in the first movement. The Scherzo fall back too often on the generic modernist idiom typical of the era, a style more suited to Shostakovich or the bluff Walton (who disliked Britten's music) than his younger contemporary.



Still, the works gets under your skin and deserves the visibility that this recording and Vengerov in particular bring. re No doubt the soulful, elegiac finale appealed to his Russian sensibility -- it hews close to Shostakovich in mood and expresses the kind of anxious sorrow characteristic of the prewar period. Vengerov gives the concerto a searching performance, with sympathetic accompaniment from his musical godfather Rostropovich and wonderful sonics from EMI. You are reminded again and again that an artist with such gifts comes along once in a generation. Britten's adroitness is shown in the concerto many changes of mood, and when Vengerov arrives at the most inspired passages, he makes them sound like music of genius.



The Walton Viola Concerto is musically a safer, less original work. It's played and recorded much moe often, because of the scarcity of viola concertos. Purists may dislike Vengerov's fairly slow, ruminative first movement, and compared to the breathtaking tone of his violin, this viola sounds less striking. Even so, he brings his talent to bear with flowing expression and commitment. I don't think one should listen to all 64 min. of this CD at one sitting--the idioms are too similar in their free-form shape and wandering harmonies. Also, neither work is immediately easy to absorb. Repeated listening makes all the difference.



In all, a triumph for Vengerov, if a somewhat low-key one. I won't return often to the Walton, but his Britten is indispensable--it redeems a neglected, near-great work.



P.S. -- In 2008 the English violinist Daniel Hope released an even better version of the Britten, one that feels more "inside" the music, and which risks making unlovely sounds, as Vengerov never does. Hope finds a gripping kind of urgency and despration in this work; therefore his account leaps ahead of the field, I think."

Beautiful and haunting

Santa Fe Listener | 12/15/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Maxim Vengerov's recording of Britten's Violin Concerto is one of the most amazing CDs I've come across in years. This is a haunting piece --- full of agitation and raw emotion, yet also lyrical and elegant in turn. Vengerov does full justice to the many hues of this work -- in particular, the lento e solenne at the end is heartbreakingly poignant and superbly played.I must admit, when this is in the CD player, I often don't get past the Britten to hear the Walton Viola Concerto, but it also is beautifully played and a gorgeous work in itself. This is one CD that's never far from the stereo in my home."