Vln Cto/Double Cto

Thank God for the Internet! If not for it, Americans like me would hardly be able to lay hands on this extraordinary disc. And extraordinary it is, boasting superlative performances of two of Brahms' most important works in rich, velvety, and ideally balanced sound.

The Double Concerto, long my favorite of Brahms' four concerti, here gets the performance of its life. Praise, first, to the two solists, who play as one; more than once during the first movement, where the violin begins a downward passage only to be taken up by the 'cello, or the 'cello begins an upward passage to be continued by the violin, I couldn't tell where one soloist left off and the other began. Such synergy is woefully rare in performances of this piece and here bespeaks (finally!) the matching of two musicians of caliber. Too often, we are forced to listen to a great violinist and a so-so 'cellist make this work into a violin concerto with 'cello obligato (I'm thinking of the unfortunate Mutter/Meneses/Karajan recording) or a great violinist and great 'cellist contort the piece out of all recognizable shape at the service of virtuosity (I won't even mention which recording I'm talking about here, because I know it has its legions of admirers). Instead, Shaham, Wang, and Abbado give a performance that is virile, yet touched by melancholy (the closing bars of the slow movement are breathtaking, as is much of the hushed development section of the first movement), and, by opening themselves up to a wider range of emotions than I've ever heard in this work, give it a fitting grandeur, appropriate to Brahms' valedictory orchestral statement.

The performance of the Violin Concerto took me longer to get a handle on; it is emotionally complex (both the work and the artists' interpretation of it) and can't really be summed up in a few words. That said, the word that first came to mind was "sensuous," although there is no lack of heft in the reading here; then words like "spontaneous" and "effortless" came to mind. For a while there, truth to tell, I wondered if perhaps Shaham and Abbado didn't make the piece sound too "easy," not projecting enough sense of struggle, but then I realized that Brahms had conceived this piece as (what was for him) "idyllic." It shares the world of the Second Symphony and First Violin Sonata. After several more listenings I finally hit on the word "inevitable." Listening to the way the work is performed here, I can't imagine it being performed any other way. Yet there is nothing overtly radical about the interpretation. The first movement is alternately tough and tender, at a tempo a bit faster than the norm, but never (!) sounding rushed; the second movement has a wonderful whimsy (with a superbly individual delivery [lots of rubato!] of the famous oboe solo); and the finale goes like lightning without ever sounding like cheap display. Overriding it all is the superb partnership (and balancing) between solist and conductor, making this a true "symphonic concerto."

In sum, a refreshing, thought-provoking, and altogether beautiful set of performances of two life-enhancing works, to engage mind and heart. I wouldn't be surprised if this one were destined for greatness.

It's regrettable that Shaham's performance wasn't recorded in the classic Jesus Christus Kirche studio used often by Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, taking advantage of the studio's warm, lush sound. However, the Double Concerto was recorded there. Unfortunately, that may be the only excellent point about its recording since neither Shaham nor Wang seem to meld well as soloists. I've heard other, more vibrant performances of the Double Concerto; one recently heard version is one with Szeryng and Starker with Bernard Haitink conducting the Concertgebouw Orchestra.

Fans of Shaham's playing won't be disappointed with either performance. However, if one wants more dramatic performances of the Brahms Violin Concerto, there are better recent recordings available, most notably those with Mutter and especially, Vengerov.