Daniel Lozakovich’s debut for DG (Bach Concertos and a Partita) was a winner, so too his Beethoven, a broadly traditional account, including the use of Fritz Kreisler’s cadenzas, and he is pertinently partnered by the Munich Phil and Valery Gergiev.
Lozakovich’s rich and sweet tone, and his expressive and poised phrasing suit Beethoven’s spacious Concerto admirably. There’s no wallowing though, for the first movement moves forward with purpose but is no faster than it needs to be, a blend of direction, if free of the metronome, and poetic song, the latter to the fore in the slow movement, evincing much depth of feeling, and the Finale is a joy, dancing irrepressibly.
Beautifully recorded (December last year) in Munich’s much-maligned Gasteig, with a natural concert-hall balance, this is special (admirers of the Schneiderhan/Jochum version, also DG, needn’t hesitate), a showcase for a hugely talented violinist who bows things his way and is not worried about copycatting current trends, fads or fancies. His encore, the Adagio, taken truly at that tempo, from Bach’s G-minor Sonata (BWV1001), is haunting. DG 483 8946.
I personally dislike a “spacious”
rendition in this sunny concerto. It needs momentum and a little fire in the notes played. From school days my favourite has been Milstein, a tad more gracious than his compatriot Heifetz.
I’ve not yet heard Daniel Lozakovich’s new recording, so can’t comment. Maybe he makes a spacious account work, maybe not. I do think, though, that this concerto has tended in recent decades to become mired in accounts of self conscious ‘profundity’ (the first movement in the hands of Vengerov and Rostropovich is an especially sombre affair). As with Edward, it was Milstein who saw me through my schooldays – the Music for Pleasure LP reissue of his Capitol recording with Steinberg and the Pittsburgh SO. Natural, immaculate, patrician, easy of movement. A lovely recording. Recently I also re-acquainted myself with Huberman’s 1934 78s with Szell and the Vienna Philharmonic. Unalloyed joyousness, open-heartedness and honesty. I challenge anyone to resist the exultant accelerando through the finale coda. A tonic in these perplexing times!
Huberman all the way Andrew – how excitedly he reaches for the sky in that first entry. Also, Szell’s only commercial recording of the Concerto – and a terrific accompaniment. Best. Rob