Dvorak, Antonin: Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 53; Khachaturian, Aram: Violin Concerto (Rachel Barton Pine, violin)
Label: Avie, 2019
Gary Lemco
Reviewed: 2020-04-10
Genre: Classical

Rachel Burton Pine performs two “ethnic” concertos, respectively, 
from Czech and Armenian roots. The 1882 Dvorak Concerto in A Minor
differs in some respects from the traditional concept: the first movement,
powerfully lyric, has no major tuttis (large orchestral sections) or a major
solo cadenza for the violin. The first movement segues directly into the
wonderfully songful Adagio, much as Mendelssohn had set the model. 
The last movement takes the form of a Czech folk dance, the “Furiant,”
as a source for its rhythmic competition of duple and triple meters. 
The sonority of the Finale resembles bagpipes, while the middle section
takes its form from the Czech “dumka,” a sad dance in shifting rhythm.
By the end of the concerto, the tone has become heroic, having moved 
into the parallel A Major.

Aram Khachaturian conceived his D Minor Violin Concerto in 1940, 
specifically with Russian violinist David Oistrakh in mind. Oistrakh’s
cadenza is still favored by contemporary performers of the concerto.
The opening Allegro con fermezza projects strong, infectious rhythms
and buoyant energy, signs of the composer’s anticipation at the time
for the birth of his son. The use of special, percussive colors, like cymbals
and jarring cadences, typifies the Armenian influence in the work. The
colors of Eastern music saturate the texture: modal harmony, re-tuned
strings, melismatic and highly vocal melodic lines, and indirect quotes
from folk airs from Georgia, the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, and gypsy impulses
collide and harmonize in a fervent mix. The second movement, Andante, 
uses a bassoon to introduce a languorous melody. The solo is muted to
suggest an exotic aura. The last movement, Allegro vivace, is a wild dance
virtuosic, enthusiastic, and deliberately “oriental.”

Dvorak: Violin Concerto in A Minor, Op. 53
1. Allegro ma non troppo (11:38)
2. Adagio ma non troppo (10:54)
3. Finale: Allegro giocoso ma non troppo (10:32)

Khachaturian: Violin Concerto in D Minor
4. Allegro con fermezza (16:07)
5. Andante sostenuto (13:47)
6. Allegro vivace (10:14)