Kennedy plays Beethoven & Mozart Violin Concertos

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Too wilful to warrant anything like a general recommendation, except to Kennedy fans and the curious. — Gramophone Magazine, July 2008 More…

Release Date: 14th Apr 2008
Catalogue No: 3953732
Label: Warner Classics
Length: 83 minutes

Presto Recording of the Week

14th April 2008

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Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61

Work length47:56

Album only

Nigel Kennedy (violin)
Polish Chamber Orchestra
Nigel Kennedy
Recorded: 2007-03-23
Recording Venue: 19 - 23 March 2007. Jesus Christus Kirche, Dahlem - Berlin, Germany.

Allegro non troppo (Cadenza by Kreisler)

Track length24:37

Album only

Larghetto (Cadenza by Kennedy)

Track length12:51

Album only

Rondo (Cadenza by Kennedy)

Track length10:28

Album only

Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 4 in D major, K218

Work length25:14

$3.90

$5.10

Nigel Kennedy (violin)
Polish Chamber Orchestra
Nigel Kennedy
Recorded: 2007-03-23
Recording Venue: 19 - 23 March 2007. Jesus Christus Kirche, Dahlem - Berlin, Germany.

Allegro (Cadenza by Kennedy)

Track length9:26

$1.30

$1.70

Andante cantabile (Cadenza by Kennedy)

Track length7:53

$1.30

$1.70

Rondeau. Andante grazioso - Allegro ma non troppo (Cadenza by Kennedy)

Track length7:55

$1.30

$1.70

Silver, H: Creepin’ In

Work length4:46

$1.30

$1.70

Michal Baranski (double bass), Nigel Kennedy (violin)
Recorded: 2007-03-23
Recording Venue: 19 - 23 March 2007. Jesus Christus Kirche, Dahlem - Berlin, Germany.

Barney Bigard, Duke Ellington: Mood Indigo

Work length5:17

$1.30

$1.70

Michal Baranski (double bass), Nigel Kennedy (violin)
Recorded: 2007-03-23
Recording Venue: 19 - 23 March 2007. Jesus Christus Kirche, Dahlem - Berlin, Germany.

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Recording of the Week, Nigel Kennedy

14th April 2008

The maverick violinist impresses in ‘rhythmically driven and playful’ Beethoven, but fails to convince in a Mozart concerto which sees him take up an electric violin for the cadenza…

For over twenty-five years, Nigel Kennedy has been acknowledged as one of the world's leading violin virtuosos and is one of the most important violinists Britain has ever produced. His virtuosic technique, unique talent and mass appeal have brought fresh perspectives to both the classical and contemporary repertoire. He is the best selling classical violinist worldwide.This album combines his first-ever Mozart recording with a fresh perspective on the Beethoven violin concerto he first recorded in 1992. He collaborates again with the Polish Chamber Orchestra of which he has been Artistic Director since 2002. He directs the orchestra from the violin in both concertos to achieve a more direct communication of the orchestra members and the cadenzas are very much his own. Kennedy says the main reason for re-approaching the Beethoven concerto is that today, he hears the piece as having more rhythmic vitality which he wants to bring out in his new recording, despite still cherishing his first recording with Tennstedt, which he said had a more old-fashioned, romantic approach and was played slower.Listen out for the Mozart cadenza which definitely gives the piece a contemporary edge. It was recorded with his electric violin and Kennedy expresses in it what the concerto means to him personally and wants to open listeners’ minds to change their view of the piece. He has also introduced a harpsichord to the work which adds warmth and gives it even more life.

Reviews

July 2008

Too wilful to warrant anything like a general recommendation, except to Kennedy fans and the curious.

13th April 2008

That hallmark attention to detail and line is still there, but it's now coupled with an energy and vitality that springs from his growing interest in jazz. His radical electric violin cadenzas breathe new life into the Mozart concerto in D K218, but purists will hate them.

12th April 2008

There is plenty to enjoy... in Kennedy's inventive performance of Mozart's Fourth Concerto, provided you can take his cadenzas, where he switches to electronic violin and treats Mozartian fragments to jazz riffs with bass player Michal Baranski - a culture shock that may come to seem a tired gimmick on repeated hearings.

Kennedy plays Beethoven & Mozart Violin Concertos

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Recording of the Week, Nigel Kennedy

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