Search - Ludwig van Beethoven, Kurt Masur, New York Philharmonic :: Beethoven: Violin Concerto; Romances

Unmusical and unorthodox performance

Prescott Cunningham Moore | 06/04/2007

(2 out of 5 stars)

"It seems when all is said and done, Anne-Sophie Mutter's career will be divided into two periods. The first period, beginning with her discovery by Karajan, will find her as a brilliant soloist and musician as represented by the many recordings she made in this first half of her life. However, the second period will show Mutter as a narcissistic technician interested in self-aggrandizing performance that have little musical precedence or interpretive basis. This performance of Beethoven's Violin Concerto certainly belongs in the latter category.



Mutter's completely unmusical handling of the first movement is quite frankly rather disgusting. Of all the pieces to smear with mannered retards, scratchy tone, and vulgar phrasing, why the Beethoven Violin Concerto? Is Mutter so out-of-tune as a musician as to miss the basic constant rhythmic pulse that begins the concerto - the five strokes of the timpani, the heartbeat of the work - that pervades the whole movement? Is she unfamiliar with historical performances practices, the difference between high-classicism and high-romanticism (if that is even what you can call her playing), and basic violin pedagogy? This is a shocking gratuitous performance that represents exactly how not to play this concerto. Tempos fluctuate throughout the entirety of the first movement with no contextual or musical basis, peppered with bizarre dynamic fluctuations, single-handedly destroying Beethoven's clear rhythmic and vocal intentions. Mutter refuses to yield to the orchestra in the various passages where the violin accompanies, attacking her instrument with vehement resistance. And she does all this with the most unflattering sound, coaxing from her instrument some truly bizarre noises. And all this done over the course of an excruciating 27 minutes.



The second and third movements fare somewhat better, if only by comparison, but Mutter continues to apply her own brand of interpretive graffiti over the entire Largretto, plagued by intonation problems and rather coarse-toned playing. The energetic Rondo is probably the best part of the concerto (perhaps in no small part because the end is near) due mainly to Masur's stronger framework, which forces the capricious Mutter to work within some structure. All in all, this is a pretty vile release from an artist who seems so bored with her repertoire that she must mutilate it in order to keep herself intellectually and musically satisfied. That the listener will find the same satisfaction is hard to believe.



It is a shame, really, that this performance was so bad, for it was taken from Kurt Masur's last subscription concert with the New York Philharmonic. All the more troubling considering the second half of the program, a performance of Beethoven's "Eroica," was phenomenal. Masur showed uncharacteristic fervor in his conducting and the Philharmonic responded in tow with a performance that hung fire. Not only was the energy palpable, but the mutual respect both orchestra and music director shared for each other was moving. Why that performance was not captured, yielding to this arrogantly unmusical account of the Violin Concerto will remain a mystery only Deutsche Grammophon can answer."

Excellent!

Romualdo Monteclar | hanover, pa | 01/17/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Liking the violinist Ms. Mutter is a matter of personal taste, and in this recording I found her performance very satisfying. Recommended."