Search - Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Gregory Rose, Russian Philharmonic Orchestra :: Hummel: Violin Concerto

HUMMEL AUF NAXOS

DAVID BRYSON | Glossop Derbyshire England | 11/02/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a fascinating find. What a marvellous job Naxos do. There is no extant complete score of Hummel's violin concerto, and some of what there is of it is in another hand than his. The conductor here, Gregory Rose, has completed the orchestral parts, and he contributes a liner note, with German translation, that puts many more expensive sets from the `main' recording outfits to complete shame. In fact Hummel may never actually have completed the score. Beethoven's violin concerto made its debut while Hummel was working on his own, and that could well, as Rose says, have put him off his stroke. Hummel's solo part is quite ambitious and virtuosic, but his own instrument was the piano (as was Beethoven's, of course) and his confidence may have deserted him. I would say that the inspiration, so far as it's possible to judge in a case like this, is not the equal of that in his trumpet concerto, but there is no shortage of performances of that work. I don't know of another performance of the violin concerto, but I hope there may be more now.



The other work here is a concerto for violin and piano, a scheme that inevitably brings to mind Beethoven's triple concerto. Like Beethoven in that case, Hummel opts for comparatively simple solo parts; and again like Beethoven he turns out a composition that is agreeable and undemanding on the listener. In this case Hummel provides his own cadenza for the first movement - understandably indeed given the potential for disaster if he had left it to the players - but he either didn't bother in the finale or his cadenza there has not survived, and the invaluable Mr Rose has contributed his own as in the outer movements of the violin concerto.



This whole production shows imagination, flair, originality and enterprise. After a lifetime of admiring Beethoven and Brahms I am simply dismayed at every successive new complete set of this or that by them. Good and interesting music that is new to me is what I want, and it will break my heart if issues such as this fail to arouse the interest I feel they deserve. The recording is bright and forward, which I feel suits both the music and the performers, and the Russian Philharmonic, whose work is completely new to me, do very well with what they are given. The soloists are new to me too, and while it is fairly obvious that we are not listening to Khachatryan and Hough they bring the right sense of enthusiasm and freshness to their playing.



Give them all your support. They all deserve it."

Mixed Bag of Hummel

Ross Kennett | Narooma, NSW Australia | 08/09/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This morning I sat down to post a review on an Eloquence CD of Italian cantatas by Handel to find that David Bryson had already posted one that said pretty much what I had to say. So all I could do is say "me too". Now I find that he has got in first again with a review of some concertos by Hummel. But on this occasion I can't agree with all of what he says.

There are two works on the CD, a violin concerto and one for violin and piano. First to the violin concerto, which Hummel left unfinished, it has been completed by Gregory Rose who also conducts the Russian Philamonic for these performances. To my mind this is a work of little consequence and totally forgetable, after listening 3 or 4 times it does not start to be familiar. The music stumbles along without direction and the added cadenzas seem to bear no relation to what has gone before. One could not begin to compare this concerto to those of Mozart or Beethoven. There are a few brief passages of interest, but 3 out of 5 is being generous.

The concerto for violin and piano is a different matter alltogether, this is much more interesting and sounds like pure Hummel. There is much to be pleased with here, the interplay between the soloists, the joyful and memorable melodies, it is music from an almost great composer at the height of his powers. The performance, though, leaves a bit to be desired, the orchestra lacks precision and balance, and although the soloists are very competent they seem to lack rapport. The cadenza played in the third movement, provided by Rose adds little and should be omitted. Overall this is a fair performance of very fine music, 4 stars. The CD average is 3.5, half marks are not allowed so I will round up to 4 for trying."