by Bill Heck
Paganini: 24 Capricesfor Solo Violin. Sarasate: Caprice basque, Milstein Caprice. Wieniawski: Etudes-Caprices for 2
violins, Op.18; Caprice andalous, Op. 122; Rêverie et caprice, H. 88. Saint-Saëns: Introduction
et rondo capriccioso, Op. 28. María Dueñas, violin; Itmar Golan, piano (Sarasate); Boris Kuschnir, piano (Wieniawski); Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin, Mihhail Gerts (Wieniawski, Saint-Saëns). DG 4865708 (2 CDs or download)
A few days ago, KWN and I were chatting about the kinds of
music that we choose to review or, more precisely, about the recordings that we
don’t want to review. Why not, you ask? Well, neither of us feels comfortable
reviewing recordings of music that doesn’t particularly appeal to us and, like
everyone else, we have our individual preferences. And, as we aren’t being paid
for our efforts, we have neither the inclination nor the time to spend
listening when doing so just feels like a chore. As we talked, one sub-genre that
came up was solo violin pieces, and here we agreed: while there's no denying
that some great music has been written for solo violin, neither of us tends to
get into it.
So why am I recounting such a conversation? Because the
retelling just shows how life's little ironies pop up everywhere. Within a day
of this conversation, I came across this new recording of, yes, solo violin
music that piqued my interest. Oh well – there are exceptions to every rule,
and my rule about generally not being so interested in works for solo violin
has already been violated at least once on this website, specifically in my
review of the
Yasÿe Six Sonatas played by Hillary Hahn. What’s one more
intellectual inconsistency among friends…?
Now if we are going to listen to music for solo violin, we might
as well start with one of the most famous and, if contemporaneous reports are
to be believed, one of the most spectacular violin virtuosos of all time, Niccolò
Paganini. And if one is going to listen to Paganini's compositions, we might as
well begin with the 24 Caprices, perhaps Paganini’s most widely known
(and imitated) series of works.
Reviews of some other recordings by Dueñas have
characterized her playing as spirited, expressive, even aggressive (in, I think,
a good sense), and those are the characteristics that one hears immediately. She
certainly has the technique and control of her instrument to deal with these often
very difficult pieces. But in addition, she makes them interesting, even moving
and just a joy to hear. As played here, these works are not just a collection
of virtuoso fireworks; she’s not afraid to vary tone and rhythm in the
interests of letting the music speak. To illustrate what I mean, think of a difficulty
that may arise when listening to such a long series of pieces: the mind may wander,
attention may drift off in other directions. That wasn’t an issue here for me,
as Dueñas brought out the musical underpinnings of each piece and kept me fully
engaged.
 |
| Niccolò Paganini | |
Of course, there are plenty of other recordings of these
works. For example, the one by Itzhak Perlman is classic, but I must say that
the recording is showing its age, with rather dull sound. The recent one by
James Ehnes features spectacular technique (he rockets through Number 1 in an
incredible 1:48 as compared to Dueñas’s “leisurely” 2:33), but the playing,
while never dull, is perhaps more straightforward than hers. In any case, I hear
Dueñas’s traversal of the
Caprices as a major success – so far, so good.
But it doesn’t stop there: as late-night TV commercials say,
“But wait! There’s more!” Although the Paganini pieces are the headliner, and
surely the reason that most readers would be interested in this release, the album
includes a collection (recital?) of works featuring the violin. To keep this
review at reasonable length, I’m going to do a quick summary, but readers
should know that there’s interesting and enjoyable music to be found here.
To start with, Dueñas is joined in different works by piano,
guitar, and full orchestra, so it’s not solo violin all the way. Many of these
works have a Spanish flavor. Perhaps the most interesting is De cuerda y
madura (Of Stone and Wood) which, depending on your taste, may
strike you as a fascinating exploration of modern composition or a far-too-out-there
collection of random notes; I lean toward the former. More immediately appealing
are the Études-Caprices for 2 Violins by Wieniawski, and of course the
two works by the perpetually underappreciated Saint-Saëns. All the playing is
impeccable, as expected.
There are only two real, even if minor, disappointments here. First, in the CD version, the Paganini Caprices are spread across two disks (number 21 - 24 on the second disk). Second is the accompanying booklet, which features quotes from Dueñas in a sort of pop magazine interview format. A
few interesting ideas surface, but it would’ve been so much nicer to have even
a brief essay by the artist speaking directly to us in more depth.
The sound of the recordings is very good if not, to my ears,
great, although varying as the works were recorded in different locations by
different engineering teams; certainly there's nothing to get in the way of enjoying some
wonderful playing of appealing and even exciting music. In summary, a release
well worth checking out – even if you thought that you weren’t fond of
music for solo violin.
