New Hadelich Release Couples Brahms and Ligeti

from the Amazon.com Web page for this recording

This past Friday Warner Classics released its latest album of performances by German-American violinist Augustin Hadelich. Hadelich has made several visits to San Francisco, all of which I have enjoyed for the imaginative approaches he would take to traditional repertoire. In his new album he has not departed from tradition; but he has situated it in a decidedly non-traditional context. Performing with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra conducted by Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Hadelich begins with Johannes Brahms’ Opus 77 concerto in D major and follows it with György Ligeti’s only violin concerto, presumably in the final version, which was first performed on June 9, 1993.

I am not sure to what extent these two concertos “inform each other when placed side by side” (Hadelich’s words); but there is no question that the contrasts are striking. As is often the case, Brahms composed his concerto with both awareness of and respect for the structural conventions of the Classical period; but his expressive rhetoric is clearly rooted in nineteenth-century Romanticism. On the other hand Ligeti turns to pre-Classical practices for most of this approaches to structure, refracting them through a generous supply of approaches to expression, many of which are based more on basic sonorities, rather than a thematic lexicon.

One result of this contrast is that one approaches the opportunity to listen to Brahms with a relatively clear set of expectations. Where Ligeti is concerned, even the most attentive listener often does not know quite to expect until (s)he actually experiences it. About a month ago I joked that Esa-Pekka Salonen’s recent cello concerto might be remembered best as “the one with the bongos.” In a similar manner, those who have experienced Ligeti’s concerto are probably likely to associate it with the ocarinas that must be played by the oboist, two clarinetists, and bassoonist. (The two flute players are similarly required to play recorders of different sizes.)

Personally, I feel most at home with listening to Ligeti when he decides to be playful, and there is no shortage of playfulness in this concerto. At the same time, there is also no shortage of distinctively bizarre sonorities, not just from the soloist but also from the ensemble, which requires detuning of one of the violins and one of the violas. Some of those sonorities seem to involve a better realization of natural overtones, but not all of them!

Did Hadelich himself have fun in playing this concerto? I like to believe that he did, as I like to believe that the cadenza for the final movement provided by Thomas Adès was inspired by Ligeti’s own prankish spirit. More importantly, after listening to this recording, I would very much appreciate an opportunity to listen to Hadelich play this concerto in concert.

None of this is to dismiss my enjoyment of his approach to Brahms. For one thing, in this case he prepared his own cadenza for the concerto’s first movement. For another, if the interpretation is not a prankish one, it still overflows with good will. This is a thoroughly joyous account of the concerto, and Hadelich’s joy seems to be shared by Harth-Bedoya’s conducting. Indeed, there is so much “giocoso” in the final Allegro giocoso movement that the attentive listener is well primed for just about anything that Ligeti should choose to serve.