The Violin Concerto by Ludwig van Beethoven has been performed for more than 200 years. As such, it is an artistic challenge to bring something new to the performance of this work. Violinist Isabelle Faust rises to that occasion with this DVD recording.
The program of this recorded concert is:
Beethoven:
- Symphony No. 6 in F major, Op. 68 ‘Pastoral’
- Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61
Performed by Isabelle Faust (violin), with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Bernard Haitink conducting.
Under the baton of Bernard Haitink, who is regarded as an authority on the music of Beethoven, they played the famous Symphony No. 6, “Pastorale”.
Ms. Faust has previously shown us beautiful interpretations of the Beethoven sonatas for piano and violin on earlier recordings.
For the Violin Concerto, the Berliner Philharmoniker in a reduced number of players were joined by Isabelle Faust, whose tone captivated in equal measure with her “passion, grit, … warmth and sweetness” (The New York Times).
The BBC Music Magazine wrote:
“Faust makes light of the technical difficulties of Beethoven’s sometimes awkwardly-written Violin Concerto. The quiet warmth of her playing, particularly in such moments as the mysterious ending to the first stage of the opening movement, and the new theme that so unexpectedly emerges at the mid-point of the slow movement, is a constant pleasure”
Here is Ms. Faust, performing the concerto under the direction of Bernard Haitink:
