Any new recording of the Fourth and Fifth concertos risks comparison with the benchmark Grumiaux/Rosenthal versions on Philips. Viviane Hagner hasn’t quite Grumiaux’s silkiness of timbre; she sounds a touch gritty in comparison, and her high register could be sweeter and smoother, but her playing has plenty of gusto without ever turning crude, and she’s excellently accompanied by Martyn Brabbins and the Royal Flemish Philharmonic. Hagner chooses tempos that are almost identical to Grumiaux’s; indeed, in the Fourth concerto, Vieuxtemps’ largest and greatest, she is even a bit more impulsive in spots.
In the exciting Fantasia appassionata, a big work as long as some of Vieuxtemps’ actual concertos, Hagner offers a really substantial coupling that doesn’t deserve its neglect. Indeed, all of this is really good music, and despite the fact that it’s obviously intended to showcase the violin, the orchestra still gets to strut its stuff, and the formal designs are remarkably compact and efficient. Hyperion’s sonics are also very good, warm and well-balanced. In short, if you care about this repertoire you must have Grumiaux, but Hagner holds her own, and is certainly worth hearing in her own right. [5/17/2011]
