Mark Kaplan’s performances of the Berg and Stravinsky violin concertos are superb–so good, in fact, that this disc would be in the top rank were the orchestral playing more polished and the recording quality more satisfactory. Actually, the Budapest Festival Orchestra invests the Berg with real affection and passion; however, the strings’ ensemble playing occasionally is ragged and there is some questionable intonation from the winds at a few key points (most noticeable in the concerto’s closing pages). Kaplan is warmly expressive yet never sentimental, and though his tempo for the first movement is comparatively slow, the musical line is kept taut and the intensity never flags. The cadenza-like passage that opens the second movement is given with fiery, improvisatory flair, and Kaplan’s tone at the very end is luminous.
Unfortunately, the orchestra’s contribution is rhythmically flabby in the first movement of the Stravinsky, and the overly-resonant recording only makes matters worse. The remaining movements are perhaps more satisfyingly spiky, but Kaplan still deserves better. He finds an ideal balance between lyricism and clarity of articulation in his playing, an approach that is especially convincing in two central aria movements, though the finale is appropriately full of froth and fun. With DG’s superior sonics and the inherent elegance of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Itzhak Perlman and Seiji Ozawa are a safer bet for this particular coupling. But Kaplan’s interpretations–particularly of the Berg–offer sufficient musical insight that you may find yourself returning to them again, despite flaws in other departments.
