Johannes Brahms
Violin Concerto; Double Concerto
Vadim Repin, violin; Truls Mork, cello
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
Riccardo Chailly, conductor
Deutsche Grammophon
This performance of the Brahms Violin Concerto is one of unalloyed
greatness. Vadim Repin feels no need to make ostentatious points in, say, the
first movement’s jagged cadence theme, or at the opening of the finale. Instead
his perfect intonation and astonishing technique at good, swift tempos make the
music sing and flow effortlessly. Listen to his exquisite tone in double-stops,
his emphatic but still dance-like rhythm in the finale, or his imposing
first-movement cadenza. Riccardo Chailly and the Gewandhaus Orchestra deliver
equally impressive accompaniments: the wind band introduction to the adagio is
gorgeous, the interplay between soloist and orchestra mesmerizing.
The Double Concerto, that stepchild of Brahms pieces for soloists and orchestra,
also ranks with the best available. It may be that the classic
Szell/Oistrakh/Rostropovich performance launches the finale with a touch more
zip, but you won’t hear the opening cadenzas played with more lyrical passion,
or the Andante spun out more affectingly. The soloists are placed a touch
forward, but they more than withstand the scrutiny within the context of warm,
vivid engineering.
- David Hurwitz
