All of the principals here were close associates of the late pianist
Lars Vogt
, and this
Ondine
release, which landed on classical best-seller charts in the autumn of 2023, is intended as a tribute to him.
Vogt
loved
Brahms
, and the main attraction is a performance of the
Double Concerto in A minor for violin, cello, and orchestra, Op. 102
, by
Christian Tetzlaff
,
Tanja Tetzlaff
, and the
Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin
under the usually somewhat cerebral conductor
Paavo Jaervi
, who turns in quite a passionate performance here. The
Double Concerto
is structured unlike anything else
(or really anyone else) ever wrote, opening with quasi-improvisatory passages in the cello and then the violin that are reconciled and brought within a Classical structure as the movement proceeds. The Tetzlaffs, in an interview-format booklet, suggest that the opening represents the feuding
and violinist
Joseph Joachim
, for whom the concerto was meant as a kind of peace offering. Whatever the actual case, the idea results in a performance of considerable tension. Also figuring into the biographical interpretation is the inclusion of
Giovanni Battista Viotti
's
Violin Concerto No. 22 in A minor
, which at first glance may seem an odd pairing. The work was a favorite of both
and
Viotti
, and hints of
's music seem to recur in the
concerto, again as a kind of peace offering or, it has been suggested, a subconscious reference. The album ends with a warm performance by
of
Silent Woods
from
Dvorak
From the Bohemian Forest, Op. 68
, not directly connected to the biographical theme but full of a spirit of calm reconciliation. It is a fine conclusion to a powerful album. ~ James Manheim