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Goldmark: Violin concerto & sonata - Irnberger / Kaspar / Salomon

Goldmark: Violin concerto & sonata - Irnberger / Kaspar / Salomon

Gramola  98986

Stereo/Multichannel Hybrid

Classical - Orchestral


Goldmark: Violin concerto & sonata

Thomas Albertus Irnberger, violin
Pavel Kašpar (Kaspar), piano
Israel Chamber Orchestra
Doron Salomon


After two successful productions (violin concertos by Gál and Mendelssohn), the collaboration between Thomas Albertus Irnberger and the Israel Chamber Orchestra now leads to a third CD with works by Karl Goldmark. You can hear the long-neglected Violin Concerto in A minor op. 28 by the Austro-Hungarian composer of Jewish descent conducted by Doron Salomon and his Violin Sonata op. 25 with Pavel Kaspar on the piano. The artistic sovereignty of the performance disguises the fact that due to the permanently delicate situation in the Near East the recording in Israel could only be made under very difficult conditions and with a great deal of courage.

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Review by Adrian Quanjer - June 18, 2015

2015 marks 100 years since Goldmark’s death. All the more reason to devote some time and some thoughts to his two compositions on this disk.

Of late, female violinists seem to have the edge. Positive discrimination or just coincidence? Whatever inspires the recording industry, it is good to note that there are still very capable men around. Thomas Irnberger is such a man: Technically perfect, sensuous and, above all, impeccable intonation. The right man for Goldmark, one might say.

After Hans Gàl, we have here another ‘rediscovered’ violin concerto that may perhaps not hit the moon, but has all the more chance to land in between the stars. No attempt here to revolutionize the musical world, but an attractive addition to the Super Audio catalogue all the same.

It is said that Goldmark, ‘the Jew from Hungary’ was more sociable and witty than his contemporary, Johannes Brahms, but he did not seek publicity and remained as much as possible secretive about his personal life. To what extent this has contributed that most of his oeuvre had little staying power, is hard to say. Fact is that no more than his opera ‘The Queen of Saba’ and ‘The Rustic Wedding’ symphony have reached the stage or most of the music literature.

This said, one might as well argue that the musical world was already hooked on a change (The New German School). It is true that the premiere of his concerto in Hungary (1878) was a success, but the ‘pure’ musical language no longer appealed to modernizers like Franz Liszt, Richard Wagner and their followers. But that is not all.

Goldmark’s violin concerto is lyrical and what is commonly called ‘late romantic’: melancholy and melody are important ingredients. On the other hand, one must recognize that the concerto is structured rather unevenly. Beauty and glitz fight for supremacy. Like so many other late romantic concerti, and I refer in this context to the excellent series of Hyperion as far as the ‘romantic piano’ is concerned, have beautiful, or even ‘beautified’ slow movements, whereas the soloists are allowed to show off their virtuosity in the outer movements, especially the final one. Such elements are also used by Goldmark in some complex parts for the violin, thereby demonstrating his thorough knowledge about harmonics and orchestration, alternated by lines of simplicity and heartfelt beauty, reminiscent of Hungarian and Jewish traditional folk music.

Goldmark had to face an uphill battle, too. Not only did concerti written in the same period and in similar vein of arguably more accomplished composers like Tchaikovsky (1878) and Brahms (1879) make it more readily into the standard repertoire, but the advent of anti-Semitism also stood increasingly in his way. The concerto survived mainly through Jewish violinists like Heifetz, Milstein, Perlman and more recently Joshua Bell.

A worthy successor in this line-up, and therefore a more than welcome ‘revival’ on SACD, is Thomas Irnberger with the Israel Chamber Orchestra, directed by Doron Salomon. Indeed, the choice of soloist could not have been better. Irnberger has everything it needs to put this music into perspective. Beautiful tone, first rate technics. The most complex elements seem simple under his bow. Direct comparison with Perlman (Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, André Prévin, EMI - CDC 7478462) reveals that he is by no means the lesser of the two.

However, the big surprise on this disk, and perhaps even more interesting, is the following sonata for violin and piano. It is so much more than just an occasional filler for the remaining space. It is a substantial and mature work of nearly 40 minutes!
The liner notes are mainly devoted to Goldmark’s life and some to the violin concerto (and do, as such, make interesting reading) but one would have expected a little more on the details of the compositions. In the case of the sonata no more is said than when and where was it was composed.

Upon hearing, one is reminded of Grieg and Schumann, more so than Brahms, I’d say. Recordings are few. I do not have the Praga Digital recording (PRD/DSD 250 223) for comparison, but the one on this disk certainly does give me entire satisfaction. Irnbergerger’s interpretation is one of purity and firm lines, yet sensitive and full of lyricism. His companion, Pavel Kašpar, gives ample and warm support at the piano.

The recordings were made at two different locations: The concerto in Israel (Tel-Aviv); the sonata in Salzburg. Gramola have captured the music quite well and with real presence in both cases, though the DSD 5.0 recording is not as warm as might have been expected.

This is certainly a disk to be cherished for its beautiful and engaging writing in the violin concerto, its maturity of the sonata, both expertly interpreted; and not only by collectors and lovers of the ‘off the beaten track’.

Normandy, France

Copyright © 2015 Adrian Quanjer and HRAudio.net

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