It’s kind of funny that a disc called “The Romance of the Violin” contains not a single piece of original violin music, but this particular “quiet listening” collection is as interesting for what it does include as for what it does not. First, there are some arrangements of opera arias, from Bellini’s “Casta Diva” to Monteverdi’s “Pur Ti Moro” (from The Coronation of Poppea). There are also songs: “Serenade” from Schubert’s Schwanengesang, Dvorák’s “Songs My Mother Taught Me” (from Gypsy Melodies), and Massenet’s sweetly sentimental “Élégie: O Doux Printemps”. These vocal arrangements, with lots of harp and soft strings, are guaranteed to set an opera lover’s teeth on edge, but certainly it’s better to have this material than, say, another Massenet “Meditation” and other such overplayed chestnuts.
In truth, any violinist (never mind one of Joshua Bell’s caliber) should be able to toss off this material with one hand tied behind his back; but the point is that Bell really does play each item sensitively and beautifully, and we already know that he has the chops to do anything he wants with his instrument. Debussy’s “The Girl with the Flaxen Hair” and the famous Andante from Mozart’s 21st Piano Concerto come off especially well, as does the Nocturne from Borodin’s Second String Quartet, which always has enjoyed a separate existence in various string orchestra versions anyway. Of course, Chopin’s Nocturne in C-sharp minor naturally sounds better as he originally wrote it, as does Saint-Saëns’ The Swan, which in moving from the cello to the violin has become a dove or pigeon. Never mind.
It may be background music, but it’s interestingly chosen, well-recorded background music, and anyone looking for a pretty and unobtrusive accompaniment to a candlelight dinner or Romantic evening should find this just the ticket. Of course, it’s easy to turn purist and sneer at such a project, but I challenge anyone out there to settle down with their significant other, turn the lights low, put on Prokofiev’s Second Symphony or Mahler’s Sixth, and live to tell about it. This may not offer musical thrills in terms of emotional depth or sheer virtuosity, but it also won’t spell the end of your relationship, and I can well imagine that for many people that’s the most important thing.
