Over the past quarter of a century the Australian Chamber Orchestra has become a regular visitor to Europe, establishing itself as one of the world’s foremost chamber bands. The group was founded in 1975, and this pairing of perhaps the two greatest violin concertos in the repertory is being released to mark the ACO’s 50th birthday. The soloist and conductor in both works is Richard Tognetti, who has been the orchestra’s leader and artistic director for the past 35 years.
Both recordings are taken from concerts given in Sydney’s City Recital Hall, the Beethoven concerto in 2018, the Brahms last February. The close recorded sound very faithfully reproduces the intensely involving approach of the ACO when heard in the flesh, with its amalgam of modern playing techniques with the use of historical instruments (gut strings, period wind). For both concertos the orchestra’s permanent core of 20 players was more than doubled with guest instrumentalists from other Australian orchestras, but the suppleness and coherence of its textures are as persuasive as ever.
Yet Tognetti’s approach may not persuade everyone. In the Beethoven especially, he favours urgency over lyricism, though that does not prevent his 27-minute account of the first movement of the Beethoven being one of the most expansive on record. In part that’s because of the choice of cadenzas, which Tognetti describes as “a synthesis” of those composed for the concerto by Vieuxtemps (which bring back the timpani with which the concerto opens), Auer and Kreisler among others.
For the Brahms, Tognetti incorporates elements of Busoni’s cadenzas in what is in general a more mainstream account of the work than his Beethoven. It is characterised by outstanding woodwind solos woven around the solo line, while textures always remain light and transparent. Even if these performances do not rival the finest of the myriad other versions on disc, they are thoroughly convincing, and a wonderful souvenir of one of one of the most remarkable partnerships in music today.
Listen on Apple Music or on Spotify
