Violin Concertos
Mozart's music is all things to all people. In this live 2-CD recording, Leonidas Kavakos, famous for his spectacular virtuosity and ravishing tone, adopts a pseudo-period approach. Referring to Mozart's "divine transparency" in his introduction, he plays with impeccable clarity and, using vibrato sparingly, a lean, focused, pristinely pure tone. The excellent orchestra, too, sounds remarkably transparent, especially on the first CD, but produces a full, "modern" sonority quite different from the soloist's, resulting in an uneasy stylistic hybrid. On the second CD, the balance favors the winds, and the solo is often overpowered. Kavakos states that his interpretation seeks to reveal the emotions hidden in the notes and harmonies, "from the sounds of war to the voices of angels."The performance, however, is strangely tame and pallid. In keeping with the style, notes start tentatively, without edge or definition and swell in the middle, robbing even the fast movements of sparkle, wit and sprightliness; the slow ones are sedate rather than serene. Throughout, long rests and pauses impede the flow; over-phrasing and fussy dynamics abound, including a fade-out on every phrase, no matter how vigorous. Mozart wrote these concertos in his teens; surely there is more youthful exuberance, mischievous humor and spice in them. The performance gives the impression that classical restraint and meticulous perfection have turned into caution and inhibition, and that all spontaneity has been lost. Kavakos reserves his boundless virtuosity and natural, gorgeous tone for his own brilliant cadenzas; tailored to his strengths, they are sometimes discursive, but skillfully use Mozart's thematic material. As a conductor, Kavakos is less persuasive: in the Symphony, the strings sound muddy, the winds are too loud, the timpani crash and boom. This recording, though not entirely convincing, is an interesting addition to the Mozart discography.--Edith Eisler