Search - Thomas Zehetmair :: Violin Concertos 1 & 2 (Dig)

Zehetmair's Bartok is sharp, quick and bright

R. Hutchinson | a world ruled by fossil fuels and fossil minds | 03/10/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Thomas Zehetmair, the brilliant German violinist, plays both Bartok violin concertos, with Ivan Fischer and his Budapest Festival Orchestra, recorded for the Berlin Classics label. Zehetmair is fantastic, and Fischer leads the best Hungarian orchestra of our time. I previously reviewed a great recording of the Bartók Violin Concerto No. 2 with Gil Shaham, Boulez and the CSO, and that's the version I've been listening to for years. This alternative is a revelation -- Shaham/Boulez/CSO is over 40 minutes long, while Zehetmair/Fischer/BFO is just over 35 minutes. It sounds very fast to me, but as it turns out Bartok's own timing marks indicate just 32 minutes. Shaham makes the work sound more Romantic by comparison, while this Zehetmair interpretation is more folk-inflected, with the violin leaping and cavorting very brightly. Shaham has a big, round tone, reminiscent of David Oistrakh, while Zehetmair's sound is sharper. DG's sound for Shaham/Boulez/CSO is better, deeper and richer, while this Berlin Classics recording by comparison is thin. But while I still love the Shaham recording, I am glad to have this faster, sharper rendition by Zehetmair as well.



While the DG disc includes Bartok's Rhapsodies for Violin & Orchestra 1 & 2, this Berlin Classics disc includes instead the posthumously numbered Concerto for Violin & Orchestra No. 1, an early work. Zehetmair (b. 1961) was 34 when he recorded these works in 1995, while Gil Shaham (b. 1971) was 27 when he recorded with Boulez & the CSO in 1998. There are currently recordings available by 21 violinists (according to Arkiv Music), but the Shaham and Zehetmair performances are two of the best."