Search - Ludwig van Beethoven, Roy Goodman, Stephanie Chase :: Ludwig van Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61 / Romance No. 1 in G major, Op. 40 / Romance No. 2 in F major, Op. 50 - Stephanie Chase / The Hanover Band / Roy Goodman

Masterly and musicologically researched

Leslie Richford | Selsingen, Lower Saxony | 09/28/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827): Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61; Romance No. 1 in G major, Op. 40; Romance No. 2 in F major, Op. 50. Performed by: Stephanie Chase, violin; the Hanover Band, directed by Roy Goodman. Recorded at Blackheath Concert Halls, London, from 27th to 29th February, 1992, and published in 1992 by Cala Records (CACD 1013). Total playing time: 55'56".



The never-ending search for a perfect recording of Beethoven's works for violin and orchestra has yielded innumerable LP and CD versions, and I myself own at least eleven of these, starting with Fritz Kreisler's Berlin recording from the 1920's and progressing through to the early-music, period-performance recordings of today. The latter have not only the advantage of accuracy (and, if you will, "authenticity", although that term has generally been avoided because stigmatized), but also, of course, of today's advanced recording technology. Of the older recordings, my current favourite is Jascha Heifetz's stereo version, coupled with Mendelssohn, on RCA, with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra led by Charles Munch - recorded in the 50's and still available today. The three period-performance recordings I own are all very good in their own way, and I would be hard-put to recommend just one, but next to Thomas Zehetmair and the Orchestra of the 18th Century led by Frans Brüggen (on Philips) I would probably go for American violinist Stephanie Chase's London recording on the little-known Cala label with Roy Goodman and the Hanover Band. This was, it seems, the first ever period-performance recording of these works, and it has a number of excellent qualities: careful research, beautiful violin playing, ideal balance and, last but not least, some fascinating English-language notes explaining why Ms. Chase has played the way she does. The tempi are moderate, not achieving the excitement to be heard on some non-period performances, but that is obviously a deliberate decision based on the sources. Also, the choice of instruments and of a bow and the way to use it are all based on musicological research and are used to recreate the concerto as nearly as possible to what Beethoven himself might have had in mind. Stephanie Chase has also composed her own lovely cadenzas and an introduction to the third movement of the Concerto based on the revisions that Beethoven himself made when re-writing the piece for piano. Does this sound dry? Well, it isn't, not when played so beautifully and recorded so clearly as this is, I have seldom heard a version which, without the clutter of modern-violin showmanship, is so able to fascinate me and draw me in to the music. Congratulations to all concerned on a masterly performance! (This applies also to the two "Romances", which here radiate a sweetness and simplicity I had never otherwise associated with them.)"

A performance that opens your ears

Devoted reader | California USA | 03/05/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"You've heard the Beethoven Violin Concerto a gazillion times. Performances by the most famous names. And here is Stephanie Chase iwth an interpretation that makes you hear this familiar piece as though you were listening for the first time: you hear Beethoven's music."

A Majestic and Inspiring Performance on Original Instruments

MusicMaven | 02/27/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This remarkable recording by Stephanie Chase is the first ever on original instruments of Beethoven's magnificent Violin Concerto. According to Robin Stowell - whose monograph on the Concerto (Cambridge University Press) lists it as "one of the top twenty performances in (the Concerto's) recorded history" - it remains a standard by which all others may be measured.



The listener is immediately engaged by the orchestral balances and timbres as Beethoven intended them to sound, from the opening tympani beats through the elastic phrasings of the strings. The expressiveness of Chase's playing beautifully reveals the predominant moods of the work, from the expansive majesty of the opening Allegro ma non troppo through the serenity of the Larghetto and, finally, the folksiness of the Rondo.



There is no issue of technique: Chase plays absolutely in tune at the lowered pitch, with sharp attention to the details of articulation and phrasing, and she provides her own cadenzas, which are imaginative and stylisticallly appropriate.



The excellent Hanover Band is directed by the eminent musician/conductor Roy Goodman and the sonics are terrific, revealing the transparency as well as the power of Beethoven's orchestration.



It is unfortunate that the company behind this recording - Cala Records - has not done more to bring this fine performance to the attention of the public, and a testimonial to the strength and superb qualities of Chase's interpretation - referred to as "life-affirming" by another reviewer - that it remains in print.

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