Niccolò Paganini (1782-1840)
Violin Concerto No.2 in B minor, Op.7 “La campanella”
24 Caprices for solo violin, Op.1 Nos. 1, 4, 5, 9, 11, 13, 24
Cornelia Vasile (violin)
rec. live, 20-21 November 1969 (Op. 7); 21 January 1970 (Op. 1), Hamburg, Germany
Rhine Classics RH-032 [54]
Of the latest batch of releases emanating from Rhine Classics, all dedicated to violinists of the past, one name particularly piqued my interest, that of Cornelia Vasile (1948-2010). This was due to the fact that I’d never come across her name before. The booklet notes adequately address the issue. She was a Romanian violinist, who apparently had an especial interest in the music of Paganini. She’d studied at the Conservatoire in Bucharest and upon graduation had attended some summer courses with Ivry Gitlis in Salzburg. Gitlis was greatly impressed by her, and later enthusiastically wrote: ”She plays better than Milstein and Szeryng together” – high praise indeed. As far as I can ascertain she only made one commercial recording. This was on Deutsche Grammophon in 1970, and features solo violin works – a selection of Paganini Caprices and Eugène Ysaÿe’s 2nd Solo Sonata. Her final years were plagued by ill health and she died impoverished.
The booklet notes relate an interesting and very bizarre story whereby a company acting for a violinist by the name of Guiseppe Gaccetta issued a fake historical CD, using Vasile’s DG Paganini Caprices, scrunching up chocolate wrappers to simulate crackles and pops, and passing it off as a 1931 recording by Gacceta. The fake was later rumbled by violinist Ingolf Turban, and the Milan company who issued the offending recording quickly withdrew it.
I have to admit that I have a slight preference for Paganini’s Second Concerto over his first. I find it less technically virtuosic than its predecessor and gifted with greater melodic largesse. Vasile’s live studio recording is brilliant and exhilarating. She’s an impressively imaginative artist with great expressive range, and her virtuosity is delivered with exceptional panache. The lyrical Adagio central movement is lovingly phrased, fervent, intense and seamless. The Rondo finale employs bell like effects, hence its name “La Campanella”. It has a distinct gypsy feel to it. Vasile’s harmonics sparkle and her richochet bowing, spiccato, double-stops and left hand pizzicatos are delivered with a devil-may-care brilliance. Heinz Wallberg and his players provide spirited and well balanced orchestral support.
In a live studio recording from 1970, a year later than the Concerto airing, Vasile presents a selection of seven Caprices, Op. 1. Each is an étude dealing with one particular aspect of technique. She performs them with supreme confidence, pristine refinement and flawless intonation, always balancing virtuosity with musicality. I would have loved to have heard her do them all. In No. 1 she demonstrates clarity of articulation in ricochet bowing across all four strings. The cleanness of her fast ricochet is also evident in No. 5. There’s some admirable détaché bowing in No. 13. The final Caprice, No. 24 showcases a wide range of highly advanced techniques, closing the recital with gusto and élan.
The audio sources for these inscriptions have been very well preserved and the resultant sound quality compares favourably with a commercial studio recording of that period. This is a first CD release. I hope that more recordings of this wonderful violinist surface in the future. She deserves to be heard.
Stephen Greenbank
Availability: Rhine Classics
