Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61: Allegro ma non troppo
Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61: Larghetto
Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61: Rondo
Romance for violin & orchestra No. 1 in G major, Op. 40
Romance for violin & orchestra No. 2 in F major, Op. 50
"One of the most brilliant and inquisitive artists of the new generation." -NEW YORK TIMES As is generally known, Beethoven later transcribed his violin concerto as a piano concerto, for which he wrote some additional sol... more »o cadenzas. Christian Tetzlaff has in turn transcribed these original piano cadenzas for the violin. According to Tetzlaff, the cadenzas by Fritz Kreisler that are usually heard are "alien ? in purely harmonic terms, but also in terms of the concept and the idea behind them. Beethoven pursues an entirely different approach in his original piano cadenzas". Voted the 2005 Instrumentalist of the Year by Musical America, Tetzlaff regularly gives guest performances as a soloist and chamber musician in all the international musical centers, such as at New York?s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and Vienna?s Musikverein as well as in London, Paris, Berlin, and Munich. He has been awarded several prizes for his numerous CD recordings, including two Diapason d?Ors, the Edison Prize, the Echo Prize, and nominations for the Grammy Awards. This recording offers one of today?s leading soloists along with conductor David Zinman, whose Beethoven recordings are praised by critics and fans. David Zinman has risen to the pinnacle of his career in the last decade. After bringing the Baltimore Symphony to major status, he became musical director of the Aspen Music Festival and then took the helm of Zurich?s beloved Tonhalle Orchestra, with which he has undertaken highly successful tours of Europe, the U.S. and Asia. Zinman?s discography, which includes over 100 recordings, has won five Grammys and two Grands Prix du Disque. Zinman?s complete Beethoven symphony set with this same orchestra received the Award of the German Record Critics in 1999 and has since gone from one rave review to another. Founded in 1868, the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra is Switzerland?s oldest symphony orchestra. Today it gives over 90 concerts each season, featuring more than 50 different programs with the world?s leading conductors and solo artists.« less
"One of the most brilliant and inquisitive artists of the new generation." -NEW YORK TIMES As is generally known, Beethoven later transcribed his violin concerto as a piano concerto, for which he wrote some additional solo cadenzas. Christian Tetzlaff has in turn transcribed these original piano cadenzas for the violin. According to Tetzlaff, the cadenzas by Fritz Kreisler that are usually heard are "alien ? in purely harmonic terms, but also in terms of the concept and the idea behind them. Beethoven pursues an entirely different approach in his original piano cadenzas". Voted the 2005 Instrumentalist of the Year by Musical America, Tetzlaff regularly gives guest performances as a soloist and chamber musician in all the international musical centers, such as at New York?s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and Vienna?s Musikverein as well as in London, Paris, Berlin, and Munich. He has been awarded several prizes for his numerous CD recordings, including two Diapason d?Ors, the Edison Prize, the Echo Prize, and nominations for the Grammy Awards. This recording offers one of today?s leading soloists along with conductor David Zinman, whose Beethoven recordings are praised by critics and fans. David Zinman has risen to the pinnacle of his career in the last decade. After bringing the Baltimore Symphony to major status, he became musical director of the Aspen Music Festival and then took the helm of Zurich?s beloved Tonhalle Orchestra, with which he has undertaken highly successful tours of Europe, the U.S. and Asia. Zinman?s discography, which includes over 100 recordings, has won five Grammys and two Grands Prix du Disque. Zinman?s complete Beethoven symphony set with this same orchestra received the Award of the German Record Critics in 1999 and has since gone from one rave review to another. Founded in 1868, the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra is Switzerland?s oldest symphony orchestra. Today it gives over 90 concerts each season, featuring more than 50 different programs with the world?s leading conductors and solo artists.
CD Reviews
Beethoven minus Romantic cobwebs
G. Campbell | savannah | 06/25/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"As in his remarkable Beethoven symphony cycle, Zinman and his Zurich orchestra allow the listener to hear the concerto from a fresh perspective; the cadenzas used by Christian Tetzlaff, Germany's finest violinist at present (yes, above Mutter - just compare their Mozart concerti),derive from Beethoven's transcription of his violin concerto for the piano. When the cadenza first appears this listener REALLY took notice, and some will find the piece virtually unrecognizable at this point, but I found it fascinating and successful-far removed from the heavily romanticized accounts of the work most will be accustomed to. The finale, which at a slow tempo can be quite laborious, sparkles like no other of recent vintage. I can imagine some will abhor this recording for the first movement waywardness, but any one who has enjoyed Zinman's Beethoven symphonies will delight in this new recording and gain a refreshing view of this, arguably the greatest of all violin concerti. Excellent sound-better than that heard in the symphonies. I want to hear now the rest of the piano concerto cycle with Zinman and Bronfman."
Perfect Enough
Ross Kennett | Narooma, NSW Australia | 08/26/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The Beethoven violin concerto is one of the great works of classical music, many would say the greatest concerto ever. I would agree that it is the best written since the baroque period. It is one of the most recorded, there are 166 versions available in the catalogue, it would be a brave man, or woman, who nominated the best.
This recording by Christian Tetzlaff with the Zurich Tonhalle is at least a very good one; conductor David Zinman has recently recorded all the orchestral music of Beethoven on a series of highly acclaimed CDs. They play on modern instruments but follow the practices of the period, the romantic overlay has been removed, it is like removing layers of varnish from and old master and seeing the original colours revealed.
I don't want to go on about the quality of the sonics, the positioning of the percussion etc, suffice it to say that this is a near perfect recording of both the concerto and the two violin romances. Near perfect? My only reservation is the use of the cadenzas written for Beethoven's transcription of the concerto for piano, especially the first few notes of cadenza at the end of the first movement, I find them jarring, but the use of drum beats again suits very well.
Which is my favourite version ? Well, of the few I know it has been Monica Huggett's neglected period instrument recording of 1992, which is very similar to this one in many ways. When I get used to that cadenza it could well be this one.
Without my doubts about those few notes this recording is easily worth five stars, as I will probably get used to them I am happy with five, especially when I remember the super bargain price."
Best of a good lot
Judith Sherman | NY, NY | 12/14/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I've been on a Beethoven Violin Concerto binge. This one is the best I've heard. It is intelligent, imaginative and stylish. By "stylish" I mean more in a Classical style than a Romantic. This is a rather early work, and I think that is appropriate. On some of the other versions I heard, the tempos are sluggish. This is sprightly, heartfelt and beautifully played by both soloist and orchestra."
Revelatory
Eric J. Matluck | Hackettstown, NJ United States | 11/10/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I approached this recording with trepidation. I have not been impressed with Zinman's Beethoven in the past, finding it lacking tension and cohesion. On the other hand, I can't stand what I find a hectoring quality in so many Beethoven interpretations. I'd read and heard that the current performance provided the proverbial breath of fresh air, but how many times has that phrase been trotted out? Listening to what Tetzlaff and Zinman do in this work, though, I was stunned. As a point of reference, my benchmark interpretation has been the Perlman/Giulini on EMI which, sadly, is starting to show its age sonically.
The very first notes of the present performance announced something new. Rather than the deep drumbeats I was used to hearing there was a lighter tapping, as if on a military drum, that sounded more "authentic." At the beginning of the opening tutti, though, I was afraid the performance would be too militant or, with the way Zinman stressed the four- (or five-) note motif that runs throughout the first movement, unsubtle (I think it is in a couple of places, but not fatally so), but such fears were, for the most part, put to rest with the expansive second theme group, lovingly but never indulgently phrased. Throughout there was a widening of the emotional compass that I wasn't used to and an absolutely superb interplay between soloist and conductor. Tetzlaff's tone could charitably be described as silvery, though I find it a little thin for my liking, reminding me of the astringent tone of Zino Francescatti, whose performance of this work, I now remember, was my introduction to it back in high school. But Tetzlaff seems to find something compelling to say at every turn--not necessarily "new" but intelligent and expressive enough to keep the ear perked at all times. Perhaps Zinman needed a soloist of this caliber to keep his own interpretation so consistently stimulating. For my money, this is easily the best of all Zinman's Beethoven recordings.
The slow movement was touching in its simplicity; kudos to the performers for refusing to indulge in bathos. The music is profoundly moving as Beethoven wrote it, nobody needs to point that out in their interpretation. But it was the finale that left me cheering; never before had I heard such a sense of joy and rapture in Beethoven. Uplifting. Enlivening. With superb sound and orchestral work in all departments (the brass nicely present and not swamped by the strings), it was an unmitigated pleasure for me to finish listening to this, thinking not so much "What a great performance" as "What a great piece of music!""
Simply the best that I have heard.
Heather Phillips | Melbourne, Australia | 01/17/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I have never studied music, and so my opinion is that of a complete amateur. However, I have listened to countless hours of classical music and attended many concerts. I think that I can tell the difference between an ordinary, mechanical performance and a virtuoso performance full of emotion. My words are a reflection of the effect that this performance had on me.
This is virtuoso extraordinary. Each note of Christian Tetzlaff's playing is concise and pure, but never for a moment mechanical. The notes soar from the violin, full of passion, unbelievably clear. I was shaking my head in disbelief when listening to this piece, especially to the previously unheard extra cadenzas which are brilliant. The beautiful romances are just that - beautiful. This is a 'must have'.
Track Listings (5) - Disc #1