Philippe Quint turns in one of the most appealing, least “sticky” performances of Korngold’s Violin Concerto yet recorded. If you usually find the piece too kitschy, then you really need to hear this. Like Heifetz, Quint adopts generally swift tempos, and this pays huge dividends in the opening movement–too often the piece sounds like it features two slow movements in a row. Here there is urgency along with passion, and a wonderful lightness in passagework that sustains the melodic thread even in the sections containing multiple stopping–and there are a lot of them. Quint’s effortless technique also permits him to find all of the puckish humor in the finale. The tunes come from Korngold’s film score to The Prince and the Pauper, after all.
A good bit of the credit for the success of this performance must go to conductor Carlos Prieto and his Mexican orchestra. It doesn’t sound like a large ensemble, and that’s all to the good. Korngold’s orchestration doesn’t need to be drowned in strings: it benefits greatly from the transparency on display here, both in terms of balance in the Violin Concerto and also in the Schauspiel Overture. Korngold was only 14 when he wrote the overture, and it’s a fully mature and very enjoyable piece in its own right. The adorable suite from Much Ado About Nothing has plenty of charm, and some good horn playing in the finale. A slightly over-prominent, wheezy harmonium in the suite represents the only strike against this otherwise well-engineered production. Definitely recommended. [6/18/2009]
