BaL 31.10.15 - Berg: Violin Concerto

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

0930

Kate Molleson compares recordings of Berg's Violin Concerto which was written after the death from polio of 18-year-old Manon Gropius, the daughter of Alma Mahler. Berg dedicated the concerto "To the memory of an angel". It has come to be one of his most popular works.


Available versions:


Renaud Capuçon, Wiener Philharmoniker, Daniel Harding

Kyung Wha Chung, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti

Isabelle Faust, Orchestra Mozart, Claudio Abbado

Isabel Faust, Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Andris Nelsons (DVD/Blu-ray)

Christian Ferras, Radio Symphony Orchestra Berlin, Massimo Freccia

Christian Ferras, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Joseph Keilberth

André Gertler, Philharmonic Orchestra, Paul Kletzki

Ivry Gitlis, Pro Musica Symphony, Vienna, William Strickland

Szymon Goldberg, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, William Steinberg

Arthur Grumiaux, Concertgebouw Orchestra, Igor Markevich

Rebecca Hirsch, Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra, Eri Klas

Philippe Hirschhorn, Orchestre Philharmonique De Liege, Pierre Bartholomee

Philippe Hirschhorn, New Philharmonia Orchestra, Uri Segal

Isabelle van Keulen, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Mario Venzago

Erica Kiesewetter, American Symphony Orchestra, Leon Botstein (download)

Leonid Kogan, Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra, Gennady Rozhdestvensky

Louis Krasner, Cleveland Orchestra, Artur Rodzinski (download)

Louis Krasner, Konsertföreningsorkester Stockholm, Fritz Busch

Louis Krasner, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Anton Webern

Gidon Kremer, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Sir Colin Davis

Gidon Kremer, City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle

Yehudi Menuhin, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Pierre Boulez

Anne-Sophie Mutter, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, James Levine

Itzhak Perlman, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa

Winfried Rademacher, Linos Ensemble

Manfred Scherzer, Leipzig Radio Orchestra, Herbert Kegel

Gil Shaham, Staatskapelle Dresden, David Robertson

Arabella Steinbacher, WDR Sinfonie-Orchester, Andris Nelsons

Isaac Stern, New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein

Vladimir Spivakov, Gürzenich Orchester Köln, James Conlon (download)

Josef Suk, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Karel Ancerl

Henryk Szeryng, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Rafael Kubelik

Joseph Szigeti, Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Dimitri Mitropoulos (download)

Reiko Watanabe, Staatskapelle Dresden, Giuseppe Sinopoli

Antje Weithaas, Stavanger Symfoniorkester, Steven Sloane

Thomas Zehetmair, Philharmonia Orchestra, Heinz Holliger

Frank Peter Zimmermann, Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart, Gianluigi Gelmetti

[Beef Oven!]

When I saw the header for this, I thought there'd be about 11 or 12 'by now'!!!!!

[Roehre]

As I started listening to 3VS around 1976 there were only a handful of Berg violin concerto recordings around.

this one Louis Krasner, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Anton Webern is a live recording of only the second performance ever of the work, and despite its deficiencies (especially a bit in the winds) its clarity and the vision of the performers is exemplary.
One of the very few recordings made by Webern too, btw (I only know of the Schubert dances which he orchestrated)

I "learnt" the work through Szeryng/Kubelik, but my personal favourite at the moment is Mutter/Levine.
I see the Menuhin/BBCSO/Boulez is not listed. Well, all three had an off-day making that recording, so no loss here.

[visualnickmos]

When I saw the header for this, I thought there'd be about 11 or 12 'by now'!!!!!

Hi Beefy. That was exactly my reaction, too. Looking forward to this one. I particularly like Kyung Wha Chung's recording with Solti.... (which is 'coupled with' Elgar's violin concerto - also superb.

[Barbirollians]

Is Menuhin/Boulez deleted ?

[Beef Oven!]

Hi Beefy. That was exactly my reaction, too. Looking forward to this one. I particularly like Kyung Wha Chung's recording with Solti.... (which is 'coupled with' Elgar's violin concerto - also superb.

Yes, I'm very much looking forward to it, too.

[Beef Oven!]

Roehre,

What is 3VS?

Edit: Ah, modernists.

But Berg is 2VS, surely?

As I started listening to 3VS around 1976 there were only a handful of Berg violin concerto recordings around.

this one Louis Krasner, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Anton Webern is a live recording of only the second performance ever of the work, and despite its deficiencies (especially a bit in the winds) its clarity and the vision of the performers is exemplary.
One of the very few recordings made by Webern too, btw (I only know of the Schubert dances which he orchestrated)

I "learned" the work through Szeryng/Kubelik, but my personal favourite at the moment is Mutter/Levine.
I see the Menuhin/BBCSO/Boulez is not listed. Well, all three had an off-day making that recording, so no loss here.

[richardfinegold]

When I saw the header for this, I thought there'd be about 11 or 12 'by now'!!!!!

My first thought as well. I actually have 3 of them (Perlman, Mutter, Suk). There are some really interesting choices there. I would like to hear Krasner/Webern.

[Barbirollians]

Suk and Chung are my favourites but my other versions Steinbacher and Faust are also both very good though the latter is quite unremitting .

[makropulos]

One to add: Ferras and Ansermet on Claves 2516 (coupled with Stravinsky) - a live performance from 1957.

[Roehre]

Roehre,

What is 3VS?

Edit: Ah, modernists.

But Berg is 2VS, surely?

Counting never was my strongest point I'm afraid

[Beef Oven!]

Counting never was my strongest point I'm afraid

Only need to be able to count to twelve for this music!

[Stanley Stewart]

My especial favourite recording, an off-air video, now on DVD, rec on BBC 2, 2 Feb 2002, was featured in the Masterworks series, exploring 20th-century orchestral works with Michael Berkeley investigating the fascinating story behind the violin concerto that Alban Berg dedicated "to the memory of an angel" - a stunningly beautiful young girl who died at the age of 18. Shot in Vienna & Carinthia, the film uncovers the coded messages buried deep within the music, including hidden messages, secret numbers and even an anti-Nazi agenda, while the piece is rehearsed and performed by soloist Leonidas Kavakos with conductor Andrew Davis and the BBC S.O. Indeed, it would be good to see the complete Masterworks series which enthralled in the pre and post millenium years and the rights may still belong to the Beeb!

[DublinJimbo]

Itzhak Perlman, BSO, Seiji Ozawa is the version I grew up with, but that's since been supplanted by Isabelle Faust's wonderful recording with Claudio Abbado and Orchestra Mozart.

This is one of my all-time favourite violin concertos, so I'll definitely listen to this BaL. I vividly recall a fascinating analysis in The Concerto, a Penguin companion book to The Symphony (that's how I remember the books anyway). I've since unintentionally lost both wonderful books in an attic clear-out. Does anyone know if they're still available and who was responsible for them?

[zola]

My especial favourite recording, an off-air video, now on DVD, rec on BBC 2, 2 Feb 2002, was featured in the Masterworks series, exploring 20th-century orchestral works with Michael Berkeley investigating the fascinating story behind the violin concerto that Alban Berg dedicated "to the memory of an angel" - a stunningly beautiful young girl who died at the age of 18. Shot in Vienna & Carinthia, the film uncovers the coded messages buried deep within the music, including hidden messages, secret numbers and even an anti-Nazi agenda, while the piece is rehearsed and performed by soloist Leonidas Kavakos with conductor Andrew Davis and the BBC S.O. Indeed, it would be good to see the complete Masterworks series which enthralled in the pre and post millenium years and the rights may still belong to the Beeb!

That performance by Kavakos and Davis was issued on a BBC Music magazine cover disc, Volume 10 no 6, which I still have. Well worth grabbing if it ever appears on any auction site or such like.