Brahms was not a violinist himself, but a pianist. During the composition of the Violin Concerto, he was therefore dependent on the advice of the violinist Joseph Joachim, a friend of his. He responded as follows to Brahms 'first attempts:' Quite a lot of notes are reasonably good for the violin. Whether it is played that easily in the concert hall under stress, I only know when I have gone through
… it completely. ' On closer acquaintance he concluded that the concert was quite difficult for someone with less big hands than himself. The violinist on this CD, Isabelle Faust, has carefully studied all of Joachim's directions, including Joachim's Violin School. A striking aspect of this strong performance is the unexpected confrontation with Ferruccio Busoni's rarely played cadences from 1913. This somewhat 'unheimliche' cadence is not listed separately in the track info. Before you even realize it, as a listener you just fall into the Post-Mahlerian world of modernity and 'Fear'. (HJ)more
