Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Violin Concerto in D minor (1853)
Max Bruch (1838-1922)
Violin Concerto No 1 in G minor, Op 26 (1867)
Niek Baar (violin)
Deutsche Radio Philarmonie/Christoph Poppen
rec. 2023, Funkhaus Halberg, Saarbrücken, Germany
Channel Classics CCS46724 [56]
Dutch violinist Niek Baar’s career has taken him all over Europe and Asia. Here are the two violin concertos that he says he plays more than any others, and is very fond of them. He is accompanied by his mentor Christoph Poppen and the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie.
Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto has been a popular favorite almost since it was first performed in 1867. The energetic but smoothly flowing Allegro moderato immediately engages the listener, and the second theme is even more appealing. Bruch wrote the Adagio with some advice from Joseph Joachim, to whom it is dedicated. This shows, as the movement is powerful but not without a tender side. The final Allegro energico is always exciting. The superb central section may be the most beautiful music Bruch ever wrote.
Some performances of the concerto could be described as overripe in tempi and emotional tone, but Niek Baar does not fall into these traps. His first movement is emotional but not overly so. He has obviously reflected on the piece throughout his career. The effect is heightened because Poppen gives the orchestra a slightly chamber-like sound, rather than a full-throated Romantic one. Baar’s sound is richer in the Adagio, but again not too sentimental. I felt at first that he was too measured in the finale but he eventually gets it right.
Robert Schumann also wrote his Violin Concerto for Joachim, but it suffered a very different fate. It was one of his last significant works before he was committed to an asylum in 1854. When it was shown to Joachim, he felt that it demonstrated signs of Schumann’s deteriorating condition, and besides it was morbid. Joachim advised Clara Schumann not to publish it. The score disappeared into the Prussian National Library until the 1930s. Since then, it gets regular performance, but is still not as well-known as the composer’s other concertos.
The tempo reading for the first movement is In kräftigem, nicht zu schnellem tempo [powerful, but not too fast]. Right away, we know that, never mind Joachim, Schumann had lost none of his compositional ability. This is an exciting start in his best late manner. The development section is lovely, but there is also a lonely tone that continues throughout the work. The slow movement contains one of the composer’s most lyrical themes. It is so beautiful that I had to ask: “What was Joachim thinking?” The delightful finale Polonaise has the childlike sense of enjoyment familiar from Schumann’s Waldszenen Op.82 or the Fantasiestücke Op.73.
Baar adopts a rather light tone in Schumann’s work. He is aware of the loneliness in the concerto, but does not overstress it. Poppen offers able assistance, especially given the sometimes craggy orchestration. In the slow movement, Baar’s tone is ethereal, a demonstration if any was needed, of his love for the piece. He is especially good in the Lebhaft, doch nicht zu schnell finale lively, but not too fast]. He evokes the childlike element noted above, and the joyousness of the dance rhythms.
Niek Baar has already recorded Schumann’s Violin Sonatas Nos.2-3. His playing here makes one hope he will record the Sonata No.1 and the wonderful Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra. Again, compliments to Christoph Poppen, whose leadership of the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie is first-rate.
William Kreindler
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