Pina Carmirelli (violin)
Concert Tours
rec. 1964-1971
Meloclassic MC2057 [2 CDs: 138]
Meloclassic have just released their third volume of live recordings by the Italian violinist Pina Carmerelli. My reviews of the previous issues can be found here (Volume 1 ~ Volume 2). Once again we have an artist that has migrated off the radar. The reason for this is that, apart from her work with I Musici and the Quintetto Boccherini, she didn’t make many studio recordings. I was alerted to the fact that there are a couple of rare Sastrophon German LPs featuring the violinist in the Beethoven Concerto and Bach’s Chaconne – how wonderful it would be to have these reissued on CD.
This latest batch of releases from Meloclassic include substantial biographical liner notes by Dr. Christof Honecker, and Carmirelli gets lavish treatment. She was born in 1914 in Varzi, Italy. Her grandfather was the conductor and composer Carlo Podesta, who provided the young Pina with some initial encouragement. She went on to study at the Milan Conservatory. In 1949 she founded the Quintetto Boccherini, a significant undertaking; she became something of an authority on Boccherini. She did much to research and promote the composer’s music and had a hand in preparing editions of his oeuvre. Later she formed the Carmirelli Quartet and became first violinist in I Musici. She made her Carnegie Hall debut in New York in 1966 with Rudolf Serkin, with whom she formed a long association. From 1963 she performed annually in the chamber concerts at the Marlboro Music Festival. She taught for many years at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. She died in 1993 at the age of seventy-nine.
CD 1 opens with a very fine live recording of the Beethoven Violin Concerto dated 6 October 1968. Carmirelli is partnered by the Radio-Orchester Beromünster under the baton of Erich Schmid. The location is Zurich. It’s a deeply personal performance focusing on the work’s reflective and spiritual qualities. Carmirelli plays with nobility of expression and patrician elegance. With a varied vibrato she achieves a rich burnished tone and expansive tonal palette.
She employs the Joachim cadenzas throughout. The slow movement is relaxed and beautifully phrased and the finale is both agile and resolute. Erich Schmid provides sympathetic support.
Set down four years earlier in February 1964, the Mendelssohn Concerto, also with Schmid and the same forces, showcases Carmirelli on top form. It’s a focused and elegant reading with her tone virile and fervid. The lyrical passages are heartfelt and expressive. The slow movement is rendered with affectionate warmth. In the finale Carmirelli’s fast bowing and quicksilver approach is particularly impressive. Schmid, once again, is a persuasive collaborator.
Willem van Otterloo at the helm of the Rundfunkorchester Hannover des NDR directs Carmirelli in a performance of Mozart’s Violin Concerto No 3 in G Major, KV 216. This live inscription is dated 12 February 1971. It’s a sunny work and the violinist injects plenty of warmth and radiance into her playing. Tempi for all three movements are just right, with Van Otterloo providing lithe and supple support. There’s plenty of charm and operatic feel in the long lines of the Adagio, whilst the final Rondo brims over with an infectious joie de vivre.
The Shostakovich Concerto opens with a dark, brooding monologue from the violin; Willy Steiner responds sensitively to the contours of the violin’s narrative. The demonical Scherzo which follows has punch and effervescence. There’s real vim and vigour in the banter between soloist and orchestra. The centre of gravity is the solemn Passacaglia, which leads without a break into a frenetic Burlesque. Carmirelli rises to the challenge of this technically complex work admirably and with aplomb. The audience register their enjoyment with enthusiastic applause.
Lovingly presented in a double gatefold, it all amounts to an attractive package. This fine collection, in addition to being very well documented, has some excellent fascinating photographs. Lynn Ludwig’s restorations have been very well realised. Aficionados of the art of violin playing will find this latest release indispensable.
Stephen Greenbank
Availability: Meloclassic
Contents
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Violin Concerto in D Major, Op 61
Pina Carmirelli ∙ violin
Radio-Orchester Beromünster
Erich Schmid ∙ conductor
Recorded · 06 October 1968· Zürich · Studio 1 · DRS · Radio Studio Recording
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op 64
Pina Carmirelli ∙ violin
Radio-Orchester Beromünster
Erich Schmid ∙ conductor
Recorded · 02 February 1964 · Zürich · Studio 1 · DRS · Radio Studio Recording
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Violin Concerto No 3 in G Major, KV 216
Pina Carmirelli ∙ violin
Rundfunkorchester Hannover des NDR
Willem van Otterloo ∙ conductor
Recorded · 12 February 1971 · Hannover · Landesfunkhaus · NDR · Live Recording
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975)
Violin Concerto No 1 in A Minor, Op 77
Pina Carmirelli ∙ violin
Rundfunkorchester Hannover des NDR
Willy Steiner ∙ conductor
Recorded · 19 November 1965 · Göttingen · Stadthalle · NDR · Live Recording
