Classical Music: Beethoven Violin Concerto LSO & Veronika Eberle

The London Symphony Orchestra frequently appears in lists of the world’s top five orchestras. On the evidence of this CD, that is well deserved. Under the direction of Sir Simon Rattle, they offer the soloist understated and subtle support.

Rattle’s artistic relationship with Eberle goes back to 2008 and their understanding shines through. He crafts the interchange of colours between soloist and ensemble with perceptive skill.

For the first movement, the familiar four notes on the cellos herald Eberle’s entrance. The playing is immediately lithe and supple. Eberle brings out, not only Beethoven’s melodic lines, but also the youthful energy.

Not that other performers appear tired, but is a younger person’s playing not a reminder of just what a revolutionary Beethoven was?

How beautifully Eberle caresses the melodies from the page to our ears. There is respect, of course, but also a playfulness that suggests to the listener that here is a fresh perspective.

Each movement is accompanied by a cadenza by Jörg Widmann. As a cadenza should, each one picks up a theme and revisits it in some way. The intention is to bring Beethoven’s music into our own times, albeit with a more austere voice.

Do we really need to do that? The cadenzas seem to me to be unnecessary appendages that just get in the way of the next movement starting. They must have been commissioned and who am I to question the choices of a Simon Rattle? Perhaps their asceticism could be seen as a pungent inflection that offsets all the sweetness.

The final piece is a fragment of an incomplete Concerto in C. Like all such pieces, it lurks in the archives waiting for a composer to finish it off. Eberle’s rendition certainly seems to open a very inviting door.

This is an entertaining and fresh rendition of one of the great monuments of Western Civilization. It is gratifying to note that a younger generation of artists is shouldering the burden of keeping it live and relevant