Beethoven: Violin Concerto

... Eberle’s first entry is tentative, but she has plenty of confidence and projection and isn’t afraid to use tempo variation. She sculpts the soaring melodies and obviously loves the slow movement... The finale, in amongst other things, is imbued with gypsy like rhythms, a double-bass that sounds like something out of Carnival of the Animals and the timpanist recalls the first movement. You could argue that the last two movement’s cadenzas are too long and obviously some may be outraged at such temerity, but they are brilliant and well-worth hearing...

The Veronika Eberle performance with Simon Rattle and the LSO is an excellent performance and recording. She plays differently than Heifetz (of course!), but her playing is very attractive, very committed, highly nuanced. Rattle provides compatible and supportive orchestral support. The overall sound quality is very nice. All of which has nothing to do with why I list it here. The reason for listing this album, and the reason you should listen to it, are the new cadenzas by German composer, conductor and clarinetist Jörg Widmann.

These new cadenzas by Widmann are VERY different than the Joachim cadenzas we are so used to hearing in this work. They are very 21st century—very modern sounding. In some ways they clash, they certainly don't go smoothly romantically into the night. And this makes them compelling, challenging, interesting. In the context of the overall concerto, they give a punch like Beethoven may have given us had he been composing in the 21st century, not the 19th. Like so much of Beethoven, these are a call to wake up, shake off the cobwebs, throw off the past. But they do this without doing a disservice to the original Beethoven composition. They are simply a very different homage to the master than that offered by Joachim. And for that, they are very much worth hearing. Just allow two or five listens through them. I'm on my third, and I think I'll yet do another few.

Eberle and Rattle brought a numbed stillness to the Largo, into which Widmann’s uncanny, ethereal cadenza dovetailed quite naturally, developing into a dialogue with the LSO’s leader.

The finale brought more war-music as well as tavern-band humor in the return of the double bass.

When the LSO Live album of the concert appears, it should make for essential listening.