Search - Elgar, Kennedy, Handley :: Sir Edward Elgar: Violin Concerto in B minor, Op. 61 - Nigel Kennedy / London Philharmonic Orchestra / Vernon Handley
Paul Bubny | Maplewood, NJ United States | 12/18/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"From back in the days when The Artist Now Known As Kennedy still used his first name, this 1984 performance of Elgar's lengthy, difficult and microdetailed concerto for violin and orchestra is a more consistent rendition than the violinist's 1990s remake with Sir Simon Rattle conducting. Actually, I'd go so far as to call this CD special. In the later recording, Kennedy may seem to "take more chances" and thus somehow penetrate more deeply into the score, but it all just seems more messy by comparison to this; moreover, Vernon Handley has a surer command of Elgar's idiom than Rattle (who is, in my view, as overrated by the British press as Handley is underrated). The violinist's intonation is not always perfect, particularly in the lengthy cadenza of the third movement, but his level of concentration is--paradoxically, most especially in that cadenza. The early-digital, slightly distant recording has held up well; you need to boost the volume a tad to bring it into focus, however. The 54-minute span of this performance is all the CD contains, but in this case it's quality over quantity."
Better than his later recording with Rattle
J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 03/04/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The line is maintained much better in this earlier recording by Nigel (as was) Kennedy, and his accompanist, Vernon Handley. This performance of the middle movement is one of the loveliest thing I know, bar none."
Elgar At His Best!!!
J Scott Morrison | 03/17/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The Kennedy/Rattle recording is very good, however, in my view this older performance is preferable (by a slim margin). You really cannot go wrong with either one."
A performance that gets to the heart of Elgar's concerto.
Frank Beck | New York, NY USA | 06/07/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Elgar played the violin himself, and this concerto is his greatest gift to his fellow violinists. When he composed the work in 1909 and 1910, there were already many concertos that gave room for virtuosic playing. Elgar did something different: he created a score that does not so much show what the violin can do as reveal all that it can say.
Here the solo violin yearns, rejoices, pleads and consoles, and then, in one of the most original cadenzas ever written for any instrument, it takes up many of the previous themes and views each familiar melody in an utterly new way. Basil Maine, Elgar's first biographer, said it best when he remarked that most cadenzas call for the soloist to step into the limelight. Elgar instead asks the player to step back into the twilit world of deepest introspection. In the hands of the right instrumentalist, the cadenza will have an audience holding its breath and the closing coda will provide a thrilling release.
Kennedy shows from his first entrance that he is at one with the concerto's elusive spirit. The first movement allegro is urgent and compelling. The andante unfolds as a gentle nocturne that rises to moments of more intimate intensity. Kennedy then brings a bracing lyricism to the third movement, which seems to be moving inexorably to a conventional conclusion when the orchestra retreats and leaves him and his violin, with only the frailest string accompaniment, to their musings. As Elgar wrote to the concerto's chief inspiration, Alice Stuart Wortley, 'the music sings of memories and hope.'
The first-rank recordings of this work stretch over nearly 80 years, beginning with Albert Sammons' landmark 1929 performance, and including two studio recordings by Yehudi Menuhin, one with the composer conducting. This interpretation by Kennedy, accompanied with careful shaping and loving attention to detail by Vernon Handley, belongs in that exalted company.
I would recommend this disc as an ideal introduction to one of Elgar's finest works. If you already know the concerto from other recordings, Kennedy and Handley will open your ears to new wonders.
"
Kennedy Knows Elgar
teva_man | United States | 09/06/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"For anyone who has heard the live recording of Glenn Gould playing the Brahms Piano Concerto #1 with Bernstein and the NY Phil, this recording of the Elgar is kind of the equivalent of that, the only difference being that it is not a live performance. Recorded around 1984, when Kennedy was not yet in his 'punk virtuoso' period, this is the finest reading of the Elgar I've ever heard. The tempos are remarkably broad and Kennedy, English himself, fully understands the piece, and milks every phrase for everything it's worth. While Heifetz's 1949 RCA recording is of course superb, Kennedy's is definitely right up there alongside of it. I'm sure there have been some who have argued that the often slow tempos are simply cheating because he didn't have the technique to play them at the correct tempo but judging from Kennedy's other recordings, that is definitely not true. And of course, Kennedy doesn't chicken out in the distinct 'molto allegro' passages in the first and third movements - they're played fine, at the indicated tempos, and he doesn't miss a note. The accompanied cadenza in the third movement is remarkable - again, taken at a slow tempo but he tosses off the runs and double stops fluidly - and Kennedy dashingly finishes the work. I give equal kudos to Vernon Handley. Although this is the only recording of his that I've yet heard, I'd have to say that he does splendid things with the orchestra. This is not an easy concerto to conduct, mainly due to the bridges between the solo passages and the tutti. I've heard more bad performances than good of this piece.
If you know the Elgar Pomp & Circumstance marches (or 'the' Pomp & Circumstance march that is played at every graduation) but don't know Elgar's Violin Concerto or Wand of Youth/Enigma Variations, heed my advice and get to know them - and start by buying this recording and Heifetz's. You'll be glad you did. AND - if you bought the more recent version of Kennedy's Elgar, you should definitely buy this one too.
Track Listings (3) - Disc #1
