Beethoven, Brahms: Violin Concertos

Gil Shaham is a richly celebrated violinist: a Grammy Award-winner acclaimed for the sweetness of his tone and the sheer energy of his performances. On Beethoven, Brahms: Violin Concertos, he turns that talent to two great violin concertos, and is joined by Brooklyn-based orchestra The Knights. “I love them. They’re brilliant, brilliant people,” Shaham tells Apple Music. “They’re beautiful artists and they’re inspiring to be around.” That love spills over in the Beethoven Concerto, a performance that feels spontaneous and natural throughout. For Shaham, it’s a work full of “amazing serenity” and “joyousness”. “Leonard Bernstein once said, ‘Why does it always feel like Beethoven did the exact right notes?’” he says. “There’s that feeling of amazing perfection with Beethoven. I’ve always been in awe of his genius.” Fittingly, it was a performance of the Concerto by the great Hungarian violinist Joseph Joachim that inspired Brahms to write his own masterpiece in 1878. It was dedicated to Joachim, who premiered the piece and wrote the first movement cadenza that Shaham plays on this recording. In his Concerto, Brahms pays homage to Beethoven with an extended orchestral introduction, a slow movement of aching beauty in which the violin floats ethereally above the orchestra, and a dancing finale that shares with Beethoven’s Concerto an exuberant rustic quality. “I guess I’ve called them sister pieces,” suggests Shaham, “born of the same muse.” Read on as Shaham guides us through the music of these two extraordinary works. Beethoven Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61 I. Allegro ma non troppo “Beethoven is always about storytelling. An incredible drama unfolds in this movement, beginning with the surprising four notes on the timpani before Beethoven gradually lets in every cast member. There’s a conflict of minor and major—will the darkness of D minor defeat D major’s forces of light? Pay particular attention to a passage about halfway through, a beautiful section in G minor where, perhaps, Beethoven reveals many of the mysteries of this music.” II. Larghetto “The second movement is remarkable. It starts out with a set of variations where the solo violin hardly participates but simply provides a commentary. After a while, there’s a declamatory orchestral forte, and the violinist comes in as if to say, ‘Hang on. I have something to say, too,’ and sings a melody that the orchestra never plays. Eventually, the movement ends with the soloist accompanied only by the first and second violins. I think it may be the softest marking in all of Beethoven.” III. Rondo. Allegro “The final movement is just so happy. We’ve been in double time for 25 minutes, and now we’re in triple time and in D major. It’s the same key as Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy’ from Symphony No. 9. The ‘Rondo' travels from major to minor, and back to major—and the ending couldn’t be more joyous.” Brahms Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 77 I. Allegro non troppo “The first movement of the Brahms Violin Concerto is absolutely epic. It tells an incredible story, and I believe it’s autobiographical—to do with Brahms’ friendship with the violinist Joseph Joachim. Perhaps it’s a comment on friendship overall. If you follow the opening melody, you’ll hear it go through many different emotions and feelings, especially when the violin comes in. Only after about a minute and a half do we finally hear the most rewarding setting of the melody, which gains a friend in the form of a counterpoint melody in the violas.” II. Adagio “This is such an incredible movement. It starts with a beautiful wind serenade in F major, and then the violin, maybe somewhat similarly to the Beethoven Concerto, never really plays the melody outright, but plays it, decorates it, comments on it, adds its own improvisations. And very significantly and very beautifully, the middle of the movement—the heart of it—moves to a very ominous F-sharp minor. Finally, it returns to F major, and the piece ends with a suggestion of the following movement.” III. Allegro giocoso ma non troppo vivace — Poco più presto “People have commented that this joyful movement may be a tribute to Hungarian dances. Brahms, of course, was familiar with Hungarian dances and wrote a series of his own. He began his career touring with the Hungarian violinist Ede Reményi and, of course, Joseph Joachim also had Hungarian heritage. There are letters from Brahms to Joachim that talk about their collaboration. Joachim makes suggestions about the violin writing. But it’s clear from this piece and all of the violin works that Brahms was absolutely fluent in violin playing.”