HENZE Violin Concerto No 2

Record and Artist Details

Composer or Director: Hans Werner Henze

Genre:

Orchestral

Label: Naxos

Media Format: CD or Download

Media Runtime: 68

Mastering:

DDD

Catalogue Number: 8 573289

8 573289. HENZE Violin Concerto No 2

Tracks:

Composition Artist Credit
Il Vitalino raddoppiato Hans Werner Henze, Composer
Hans Werner Henze, Composer
Longbow
Peter Sheppard Skaerved, Conductor, Violin
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No. 2 Hans Werner Henze, Composer
Hans Werner Henze, Composer
Hans Werner Henze, Composer
Omar Ebrahim, Speaker
Parnassus Ensemble
Peter Sheppard Skaerved, Violin
In his vivid booklet-note (one of the best I have read for a long while, both informative and entertaining), Peter Sheppard Skærved calls Il Vitalino raddoppiato (1977) ‘this exquisite work’ and he is absolutely on the money. Its unusual design is scarcely any more unconventional than that of the Second Concerto (1971), being a ‘chaconne on a chaconne’, the original by the eponymous Tomaso Vitali. It is a beautifully achieved, experimental reinterpretation of a Classical model, however, exploring the relationship between soloist to ensemble as much as that of modern composer to respected forebear (although Skærved’s retelling of Henze’s ‘actual plot’ casts a fascinating – and hilarious – light on how far that respect extended).

On paper, the Second Concerto’s curious form (commented on before in these pages; see the comparative reviews listed below) sounds like 1970s agitprop. The soloist – dressed as Baron Munchhausen, replete with cape and feathered hat – arrives so late (again Skærved has a funny story about that!) that orchestra, with narrator, start without him; and by the unaccompanied close he has at points functioned as second narrator and purloined the conductor’s baton. What is remarkable is that in this 1991 performance, expertly remastered, the work comes alive in a way neither rival account manages, even that by Langbein, who premiered it. Henze’s expert direction melds the disparate threads such that they flow with utmost logic. Where some composers wear polystylism as a cloak – or mask – with Henze it comes from within as a natural response to the musical challenges encountered.

Through it all, Skærved weaves his haunting presence as primus inter pares in what can be heard as expanded chamber music. A superb disc; I must now explore his earlier disc of Nos 1 and 3 (12/06). Highly recommended.

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