Tchaikovsky Treasures
Violin Concerto; Sérénade Mélancolique; Valse-scherzo; Swan Lake – Pas de deux; Eugene Onegin – Letter Scene; Lensky’s Aria
Guy Braunstein (violin); BBC Symphony Orchestra/kirill Karabits Pentatone PTC 5186 747 (hybrid CD/ SACD) 70:23 mins
Inevitably, the central work in this enterprising collection of works for violin and orchestra by Tchaikovsky, all composed in the mid 1870s, is going to be the much-recorded Violin Concerto. It receives a passionate and powerfully committed performance from Israeli violinist Guy Braunstein, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Kirill Karabits shapes the orchestral accompaniment with a greater degree of subtlety and sophistication than is often the case. Following the tradition of some 19th- and early 20th-century virtuosos, Braunstein elaborates the solo part, adding octaves, double stops and virtuoso flourishes in places, but doing so with a degree of spontaneity that is immensely appealing.
My only caveat with this interpretation is that its intensity is almost unremitting, and there are moments where a lighter, more balletic characterisation of the solo part would bring greater contrast to the music. Perhaps this impression is exacerbated by the rather forwardly placed violin, which tends to exaggerate the percussiveness of some of Braunstein’s articulation. Nevertheless, the recording as a whole is extremely vivid and offers plenty of inner orchestral detail.
The rest of the disc encompasses a greater spectrum of emotions than in the Concerto, ranging from the playful virtuosity of the Valsescherzo to the more ruminative Sérénade mélancolique. Most interesting of all are Braunstein’s imaginative transcriptions for violin and orchestra of the ‘Pas de deux’ from Act I of Swan Lake and Lensky’s Aria and the Letter Scene from Eugene Onegin. This last example is particularly compelling, the violin delivering a convincing portrayal of the ardour and breathless excitement that comes to the fore in this much-loved operatic excerpt.
Erik Levi
PERFORMANCE ★★★★
RECORDING ★★★★