Henri Vieuxtemps - Violin Concertos Nos. 2 & 3 (Misha Keylin)

Information

Composer: Henri Vieuxtemps

• Violin Concerto No. 2 in F sharp minor, Op. 19
• Violin Concerto No. 3 in A major, Op. 25

Misha Keylin, violin

Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra

Dennis Burkh, conductor

Date: 1997

Label: Naxos

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Review

By good fortune Naxos have chosen a splendid player to introduce us to Nos. 2 and 3. The Russian artist, Misha Keylin, emigrated to the USA at the age of nine and by 15 was already a soloist at Carnegie Hall. His timbre is rich, with a duskily subtle control of colour, his technique impeccable, and there is the kind of Slavonic flair that can bring such lightweight but masterly concertos fully to life. Moreover, as the opening ritornello of the Second Concerto immediately demonstrates, Burkh’s accompaniments with the leonine Janacek Philharmonic are extremely vivid and supportive, polished too; and how gracefully they play the fetching secondary lyrical theme. The Andante brings another fine melody, which Keylin phrases most enticingly, in a heartfelt but never cloying manner. The finale is just as graceful, with the histrionics ever tasteful, and in the cadenza, as elsewhere, Keylin’s touches of rubato, his quixotic colour-changes and dynamic shading constantly add to the listener’s pleasure.

The Third Concerto opens with a throbbing, spirited tutti which the conductor, Dennis Burkh, handles with aplomb. The solo entry, with its rhythmic snap, is arresting and has an exciting, Paganini-like progress and a dainty secondary theme. The Adagio is a darkly eloquent cantilena which is superbly caught here: the orchestra’s response is properly passionate. In the finale, marked con delicatezza, the soloist launches into a scintillating rondo, with attractive contrasting episodes. Keylin plays this with infectious and captivating insouciance, the fireworks sparkling at every capricious turn, the lightness of his bowing sheer joy. Again the orchestral ritornellos have matching spirit. In short one cannot conceive that these two thoroughly diverting concertos could be given a more auspicious CD debut.

The Naxos recording is first-rate, with a nice concert-hall ambience, and a realistic balance (no solo scratchiness from unduly close microphones). A genuine bargain.

— Ivan March

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Henry Vieuxtemps (17 February 1820 – 6 June 1881) was a Belgian violinist and composer. A prodigy, he studied with Charles Auguste de Bériot in Brussels, Simon Sechter in Vienna and Anton Reicha in Paris before touring extensively across Europe and the United States. He held teaching positions in St. Petersburg and Brussels. Renowned for his exceptional technical precision and rich tone, Vieuxtemps became one of the leading virtuosos of the 19th century, and his style was widely emulated. As a composer, he was equally innovative, with his violin concertos making important contributions to the development of the form.

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Misha Keylin (born 1970 in St. Petersburg, Russia) is a Russian-American violinist. After immigrating to the United States at nine, he studied under Dorothy DeLay at Juilliard. Keylin made his Carnegie Hall debut at age 11 and later performed there as a soloist with the New York String Orchestra under Alexander Schneider. He has won numerous competition prizes and performed in over 40 countries. Widely recognized for his recordings of Henri Vieuxtemps' works for Naxos, Keylin also maintains a broad repertoire spanning Baroque to contemporary music, including major violin concertos by leading composers.

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