BaL 26.02.22 - Bach: Concerto for 2 Violins and Orchestra BWV1043

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

9.30 Building a Library
Joseph McHardy compares recordings of Bach’s Concerto in D minor for two violins, BWV1043, with Andrew McGregor and picks his favourite.

Bach’s Concerto for two violins in D minor, BWV1043, affectionately known as the ‘Double Concerto’, is one of the most popular works of the Baroque repertoire. The two solo parts of this concerto have survived in Bach’s own handwriting, in an autograph that dates from around 1730, when Bach was living in Köthen.

The outer movements illustrate the influence of the Italian Baroque style on Bach in their brisk rhythms, fugal imitations and much of the intricate passage work, while the central movement is deeply expressive as the melodic lines weave between the two violins.

Available versions:-

Salvatore Accardo, Margaret Batjer, Chamber Orchestra of Europe *
Georgi Badev, Stoika Milanova, Sofia Soloists Chamber Orchestra, Vassil Kazandjiev
Cecilia Bernardini, Huw Daniel, Dunedin Consort, John Butt (SACD)
Carmignola, Mario Brunello, Accademia dell’Annunciata, Riccardo Doni,
Otto Buechner , Kurt Guntner, Münchener Bach-Orchester, Karl Richter *
Adolf Busch, Frances Magnes, Adolf Busch Chamber Players
Isabelle Faust, Bernhard Forck, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin
Isabelle Faust, Bach-Collegium Stuttgart, Helmuth Rilling
Christian Ferras,, Yehudi Menuhin, Bath Festival Orchestra
Julia Fischer, Alexander Sitkovetsky, Academy of St Martin in the Fields
Zino Francescatti, Régis Pasquier , Festival Strings Lucerne, Rudolf Baumgartner *
Arthur Grumiaux, Herman Krebbers, Les Solistes Romands, Arpad Gerecz *
Hilary Hahn, Margaret Batjer, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Jeffrey Kahane
Joji Hattori & James Clark, Scottish Chamber Orchestra *
Jascha Heifetz, Erick Friedman, New Symphony Orchestra of London, Sir Malcolm Sargent *
Jascha Heifetz, RCA Victor Chamber Orchestra, Franz Waxman
Ferdinand Helman, Louis Zimmermann, Willem Mengelberg
Mayumi Hirasaki, Giuliano Carmignola, Concerto Köln *
Daniel Hope, Marieke Blankestijn, Chamber Orchestra of Europe
Monica Huggett, Alison Bury, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Ton Koopman *
Alexander Jablokov, Takako Nishizaki, Capella Istropolitana, Oliver Dohnanyi
Okko Kamu, Leif Segerstam, Stokholm National Museum Chamber Orchestra, Claude Génetay
Nigel Kennedy, Albrecht Mayer, Daniel Stabrawa, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra *
Jennifer Koh, Jaime Laredo, Curtis 20/21 Ensemble, Vinay Parameswaran
Dénes Kovács, Mária Bálint, Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, Miklós Erdélyi
Fritz Kreisler, Efrem Zimbalist, Walter B. Rogers
Gidon Kremer, Academy of St Martin in the Fields
Monica Huggett, Alison Bury, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, Ton Koopman *
Sigiswald Kuijken, Lucy Van Dael, La Petite Bande *
Pekka Kuusisto, Jaakko Kuusisto, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Tero Latvala *
Jeanne Lamon, Aisslinn Nosky, Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra *
Catherine Mackintosh, Elizabeth Wallfisch, King’s Consort, Robert King
Andrew Manze, Rachel Podger, Academy of Ancient Music *
Yehudi Menuhin, George Enescu, Orchestre Symphonique de Paris, Pierre Monteux
Jane Murdoch, Jonathan Rees, Scottish Ensemble, Jonathan Rees *
Musica Amphion, Ensemble Cordevento
Anne-Sophie Mutter, Salvatore Accardo, English Chamber Orchestra
Jane Murdoch, Jonathan Rees .Scottish Ensemble, Jonathan Rees *
Deborah Nemtanu, Sarah Nemtanu, Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, Sascha Goetzel *
Takako Nishizaki, Cappella Istropolitana, Oliver von Dohnányi
Igor Oistrakh, David Oistrakh, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Franz Konwitschny
David Oistrakh, Igor Oistrakh, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Eugene Goossens
Nicolas Pache, Edouard Jaccottet, Orchestre des Collèges Lausannois, Chœur du Collège de Béthusy, Jacques Pache *
Itzhak Perlman, Isaac Stern, New York Philharmonic, Zubin Mehta *
Itzhak Perlman, Pinchas Zukerman, English Chamber Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim
Christine Pichlmeier, Lisa Stewart, Kölner Kammerorchester, Helmut Müller-Brühl
Rachel Podger, Bojan Cicic, Brecon Baroque (SACD)
Christoph Poppen, Isabelle Faust, Stuttgart Bach Collegium Orchestra, Helmuth Rilling
Adriane Post, Carrie Krause, New Trinity Baroque, Predrag Gosta *
Vá�a Prihoda, Franco Novello, Orchestra d’Archi di Torino della RAI, Ennio Gerelli *
Nemanja Radulovic, Tijana Milo�evic, Les Trilles du Diable
János Rolla, Kálmán Kostyál, Liszt Ferenc Chamber Orchestra, Budapest *
Arnold Rose, Alma Rose, Studio chamber orchestra, Alfred Rose
Shunske Sato, Zefira Valova, Il Pomo d’oro
Benjamin Schmid, Helge Rosenkranz, Cis Collegium Mozarteum Salzburg, Jürgen Geise
Schroeder, Hirons, Academy of Ancient Music
Michel Schwalbé, Christian Ferras, Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan *
Daniel Sepec, Ars Antiqua Austria, Gunar Letzbor
Viktor Sidorenko, Alexander Schulrufer, Mozarteum Orchestra, Arkady Steinlucht *
Peter Spissky, Bjarte Eike, Concerto Copenhagen, Lars Ulrik Mortensen *
Simon Standage, Elizabeth Wilcock, The English Concert, Trevor Pinnock
Arnold Steinhardt, Xiao-fu Zhou, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Jahja Ling *
Isaac Stern, Yehudi Menuhin, New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein *
Isaac Stern, Shlomo Mintz, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
Akiko Suwanai, Volkhard Steude, Chamber Orchestra of Europe *
Henryk Szeryng, Maurice Hasson, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner
Joseph Szigeti, Carl Flesch, Studio orchestra, Walter Goehr
Thüringer Bach Collegium
Pablo Valetti, Amandine Beyer, Café Zimmermann
Natsumi Wakamatsu, Ryo Terakado, Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki
Frank Peter Zimmermann, Alan Gilbert, New York Philharmonic *
Louis Zimmerman, Ferdinand Helman, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Willem Mengelberg
Pinchas Zukerman, José-Luis Garcia, English Chamber Orchestra *
Pinchas Zukerman, Isaac Stern, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra *
Pinchas Zukerman, Midori Goto, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra
* = download only

[Joseph K]

I love this work. Through a little memory-racking and google I've managed to figure out that the version I got to know this work was the Scottish Ensemble with Jonathan Rees. Sadly I must have either lost or had stolen this... but I'm up for replacing it not necessarily with the same one (though that came as a double-CD with the Brandenburg Concertos).

[ardcarp]

I've got so many happy memories of Bach's double concerto. My Dad was a mean fiddler, and I used to try and accompany him, adding in the 2nd violin part as far as I was able (age 12-ish) on the piano. I brought a uni friend, Andrew Giles, home in slightly later life (he was a singer and later to become a lay clerk at the Abbey). He slightly reluctantly admitted to having learned the violin at school. Dad immediately unearthed his spare violin and thrust it upon Andrew to join him in the Bach double. He really played it quite well, especially having hidden his talent from his fellow students, mainly for fear of being dragooned into some chamber orchestra or other.

Sorry about the anecdote! I've since conducted 'the double' several times, directing from the harpsichord. No other work seems to look after itself so well in performance.

I wonder if they'll start the programme with the Menuhin/Oistrakh classic? Performance practice has changed so much in the intervening 50/60 years or so. The slow movement is a real wonder...but I do fear that excess speed can wreck its appeal somewhat.

A trip down memory lane here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf1X7ppZiIQ

[LeMartinPecheur]

My shelves contain four recordings in EA's list (the DG Oistrakhs, Sato, Standage and Valetti) and one that isn't, Eduard Melkus with the Vienna Capella Antiqua on a 1971 Archiv LP. In the early 70s I heard Melkus playing solo Bach at a college concert. Can't tell you that it was brilliant because I couldn't concentrate on it at all

Reason? Just before the start Melkus thrust a cassette recorder into my hands and asked me to tape the concert. Focusing on this with no experience of making live recordings wrecked everything for me. I never heard if the tapes had come out OK. Maybe they'll make a sensational appearance on CD sometime?

Or maybe not, judging by this from Wiki:
"Melkus is not much remembered today (2008) because his style included many anachronistic elements: the use of modern wire and wire-covered strings rather than gut, ubiquitous modern a¹=440 pitch, a chin-rest (not even invented until the 1820s), and continuous, rather distracting, vibrato. In these ways, he departed from those better-known colleagues in Vienna with whom he began, the Harnoncourts. Oddly, he never adapted to methods that have been shown by scholars as more appropriate historically, even more recently. His older recordings are generally dismissed and have not been reissued on CD. It is a pity because, despite his less "authentic" sound, the recordings of the 1965-1971 period reveal in his playing what is lacking in most players today: an instantly recognizable personal sound and style, and most significantly, an enthusiasm for embellishing music in ways that more contemporary period players seldom attempt, but their 18th-century forebears did without question; in that sense, he is more "historical" than they—and to some listeners, more exciting."

Must give that Melkus concerto LP a spin soon. It was probably my first purchase with any HIP pretentions at all.

[Barbirollians]

This again already - didn’t Nicholas Anderson do it only a few years ago and Grumiaux/Krebbers held off the HIPP challengers ?

[MickyD]

I can't see the AAM's first recording in the list, that with Jaap Schroeder and Christopher Hirons. Must give it a listen, years since I played it...the second AAM one with Podger and Manze is a favourite of mine.

[Barbirollians]

I've got so many happy memories of Bach's double concerto. My Dad was a mean fiddler, and I used to try and accompany him, adding in the 2nd violin part as far as I was able (age 12-ish) on the piano. I brought a uni friend, Andrew Giles, home in slightly later life (he was a singer and later to become a lay clerk at the Abbey). He slightly reluctantly admitted to having learned the violin at school. Dad immediately unearthed his spare violin and thrust it upon Andrew to join him in the Bach double. He really played it quite well, especially having hidden his talent from his fellow students, mainly for fear of being dragooned into some chamber orchestra or other.

Sorry about the anecdote! I've since conducted 'the double' several times, directing from the harpsichord. No other work seems to look after itself so well in performance.

I wonder if they'll start the programme with the Menuhin/Oistrakh classic? Performance practice has changed so much in the intervening 50/60 years or so. The slow movement is a real wonder...but I do fear that excess speed can wreck its appeal somewhat.

A trip down memory lane here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf1X7ppZiIQ

Not sure that there is anything other than video of Menuhin/Oistrakh - very lovely as it is . My favourites are Standage/Willock,Menuhin/Ferrasvand Kennedy in Berlin.

[Darloboy]

This again already - didn’t Nicholas Anderson do it only a few years ago and Grumiaux/Krebbers held off the HIPP challengers ?

Yep, in October 2012; Standage/Wilcock/Pinnock was the period choice. I think he also mentioned Menuhin/Enescu/Monteux as a symphony orchestra version. We do seem to be having a rerun of BaL circa. 2010-2012 this year, albeit without any opera.

In Feb 99 Simon Heighes chose Heifetz/Friedman/Sargent with Manze/Podger/AAM as period choice.

And in March 1980 Jeremy Siepmann chose Szeryng/Hasson/Marriner with Alice Harnoncourt/Pfeiffer/Nikolaus Harnoncourt as runner-up.

[Lordgeous]

Having got to know this fabulous piece in my teens from the DG Oistrach's version, I was thrilled to be able to hear them 'live' in the Oxford Sheldonian. Still have my autographed programme somewhere. Wonderful playing, especially the slow movement, romantasized or not Still a classic for me.

[mikealdren]

I'm surprised how many versions I have seem to be nla:
Ferras/Menuhin (in the Ferras Icon box)
Grumiaux/Toyoda (in the Grumiaux box, does that count)
Oistrakhs with Barshai (recently reissued on Melodiya so should be available)
Kogan/Gilels
Kremer/Kagan
Rosé, Arnold and Alma
Szigeti/Flesch

[RichardB]

...the second AAM one with Podger and Manze is a favourite of mine.

Really? I bought that enthusiastically when it came out but got rid of it almost immediately afterwards on account of the music being smothered in awkward and inappropriate ornamentation.

(If I want to hear it I reach for the Café Zimmermann recording, and that goes for pretty much all of Bach's instrumental ensemble music.)

[Barbirollians]

I don’t have the first Podger recording but would not say that afflicts her later account on Channel Classics with Bojan Cicic and Brecon Baroque.

[richardfinegold]

I don’t have the first Podger recording but would not say that afflicts her later account on Channel Classics with Bojan Cicic and Brecon Baroque.

The Podger recording with Brecon Baroque on SACD is my recording. I was surprised to find that Pristine Audio streaming service doesn’t have the Heifetz/Friedman/Sargent

[BBMmk2]

I get the feeling that the BaLs so far, have not been very imaginative.

[MickyD]

Really? I bought that enthusiastically when it came out but got rid of it almost immediately afterwards on account of the music being smothered in awkward and inappropriate ornamentation.

(If I want to hear it I reach for the Café Zimmermann recording, and that goes for pretty much all of Bach's instrumental ensemble music.)

Each to his own!
I'm also fond of the Bury/Huggett/Koopman recording.