Violin Concertos

The Violin Concerto of Gian Carlo Menotti (1911-2007, Italy) was commissioned in 1952 by Efrem Zimbalist, a violin soloist and, at the time, director of the Curtis Institute of Music. The piece was debuted on December 5 1952 in Philadelphia with Zimbalist and Eugene Ormandy conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra. The work has been recorded by Tossy Spivakovsky (1955, Boston Symphony, Munch) and more recently by Jennifer Koh in a live recording at the Spoleto Festival (2002).

Louis Biancolli, New York Telegram & Sun, 10/12/1952, described the Menotti Violin Concerto as "a fresh and vigorous piece of music, overflowing with energy and melody and whatever else it takes to complete a three-movement concerto without becoming apologetic."

Unlike much 20th century classical music which delved deeply into atonalism, twelve tone rows, and avant garde, the Menotti Concerto is quite traditional. It is very lyrical, particularly the 2nd themes of the first and third movements. While the Menotti Concerto is hardly standard repertoire, it is nevertheless a worthwhile piece to get to know. Menotti himself was quite fond of it, and fans of the Italian-American's operas will not be disappointed.

The Violin Concerto of Samuel Barber (1910-1981, Pennsylvania) was written in 1939 and debuted on February 7, 1941 (Albert Spalding, soloist, Philadelphia Orchestra, Ormandy). Unlike many American 20th C violin concertos, the Barber has established itself among the standard repertoire. The Barber Concerto is one of the most sentimental violin concertos ever written, and has been recorded by numerous artists.

Ruggiero Ricci (1918-2012, San Francisco) is well-known as a technician, having earned particular fame with the knucklebuster music of the likes of Paganini, Sarasate, and Wieniawski. But Ricci's 60-year recording legacy actually spans many different styles, from Bach to Ginastera. His recordings of the Barber and the Menotti are wonderful opportunities to hear his approach to the more romantic repertoire. Ricci tends to avoid adding his own embellishments like swooping portamento and tempo changes, preferring to let the music speak for itself. It's an approach that Toscanini would have admired,..and it works.

Keith Clark and the Pacific Symphony Orchestra get plenty of chances to show off their top-notch abilities.

My only reservation with this disc is the uneven engineering: the soloist is clearly undermiked. Turning up the volume does not help either.

This album was recorded in October 1983 at Santa Ana High School, Santa Ana, CA. It is only the 2nd recording of the Menotti Violin Concerto since Spivakovsky's 1955 record. As such, this disc has historical significance. Coupled with the ever-popular Barber, it is also a valuable addition for lovers of Ricci's brilliant violin playing as well as those interested in 20th century music.

I have listened to this disc many times now, and really enjoy it.

Recommended.

This was fairly rare material when it first came out on Varèse Sarabande VCD47239 (which is how I have it) in 1985, not so much for Barber's popular Concerto (though the disc boasted being the digital premiere) as for Menotti's. There had been previously only one recording, by Tossy Spivokovsky and Charles Munch conducting the Boston SO in 1955 on RCA (the Concerto was completed in 1952). Not so much any more: a search on this site yields three other recordings, including one with the same Barber coupling, to which Harutunyan's Violin Concerto was added (Romantic Violin Concertos Of The 20th Century).

Indeed, these two works make good discmates, and not only because Barber and Menotti were long-time lovers. They also share a same Romantic and strongly lyrical language - "unabashed lyricism", they call it. Barber's Concerto from 1940 is couched mostly in a long-lined, gentle lyricism, with occasional outbursts into more passionate and intense utterances. The animated finale reminds me strongly of a near-contemporary and (unjustly) hardly popular Violin Concerto which I find more colourful and appealing, Rodrigo's Summer Concerto (see my reviews of Rodrigo: Concierto de estio; Semenoff; Double Concerto; Elizalde; Violin Concerto and Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez; Concertos; Orchestral Works [Box Set]].

Menotti... is much the same, with occasional flights at the beginning and end of the first movement into a more scherzando section reminiscent of Prokofiev's First Concerto. But Menotti, I find, also has a not so appealing tendency to take a characteristic theme and harp upon it to the point of satiation.

I must confess that I don't warm very much to that kind of mid-20th Century romanticism. I fail to understand why composers took interest in repeating the gestures that were already passé even 20 years before. I far prefer Barber's more angrily thorny statements in his two Symphonies, and I find the lyricism of Prokofiev's Concertos much more personal and memorable - but the real lyricism to me is one that is not heart-on-sleeve, as in Berg's or Bartok's Violin Concertos. And even within the confines of this kind of "unabashed lyricism", I wonder what Barber's Concerto has attained such a popularity, and not, say, Rodrigo's, or Harris' and Piston's respective First Concertos (see my reviews of Roy Harris: Symphony 1933; Concerto for Violin and Orchestra; Symphony No. 5 and Louis Kaufman plays Piston Violin Concerto No. 1, Copland Violin Sonata). Still, for those who enjoy Barber's Concerto, the coupling with Menotti is ideal.

I haven't done detailed comparisons between Ricci's reading of Barber's Concerto and others (I have a number in my LP and CD collection, including Stern, Leonard Bernstein Conducts Barber & Schuman and Elmar Oliveira, Howard Hanson: Symphony No. 2; Samuel Barber: Violin Concerto) but the American violinist appears to play with fine tone throughout, and the sonics are fine. TT is an acceptable 53:30.