Elgar: Violin Concerto in Bloomington, MN

Of his
Violin Concerto in B minor, Op. 61
,
Edward Elgar
had this to say: "It's good! Awfully emotional! Too emotional, but I love it." That was understandable, given that the work was written for a violinist,
Fritz Kreisler
, with a highly emotional style, but since the work's first recording by violinist
Albert Sammons
, there have been other ways of playing it, faster, more muscular, more sweeping. The good news is that with this magnificent 2024 recording by violinist
Vilde Frang
and the
Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin
under conductor
Robin Ticciati
, listeners can have the best of both worlds.
Frang
is no sentimentalist, although she offers an emotionally rich Andante movement. However, her concerto is toward the slow side, just under 50 minutes (close to the speed at which
Elgar
took it as conductor in the premiere performance), and it allows detail and subtlety of affect without losing the long line.
, in fact, constructs a big structure that begins with the remarkable hushed soloist's entry in the first movement and does not flag until the end, in a finale that often feels positively exuberant here. The much-vaunted stamina requirements of this concerto certainly come into play here, and
surmounts them in a performance that grabs the listener's attention and will not let go.
Ticciati
is an intelligent accompanist who does not drop
's momentum. This is a splendid recording of one of the most difficult concertos -- technically and emotionally -- in the classical repertory. This recording made classical best-seller lists in the late summer of 2024. ~ James Manheim