Brahms
PentaTone

Seriousness of purpose, a clear head, a passionate heart, and a beautiful rounded tone: these have been constants so far with PentaTone’s regular CD releases by the young German violinist Julia Fischer.

There’s another regular presence on the discs: the Russian-born conductor Yakov Kreizberg. He’s back again here with his Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, propelling them cleanly, if largely impersonally, through the two big Brahms concertos written with the violinist Joseph Joachim in mind: the Violin Concerto, and the Double Concerto for violin and cello.

But it’s Fischer and her superb instrument, a 1750 Guadagnini, that you listen for and remember. Consider the moment around the 4 min 40 sec mark in the Violin Concerto’s first movement. With the sweetest of sighs she eases herself into the principal theme, a violin acrobat delicately treading the high wire with a hushed orchestra waiting below, and she never falls off. It’s a magical, lyrical moment, one of many in the performance here.

She delivers fire and guts too: when she digs into the cadenza prepare to sit on the edge of your seat. Now in her early twenties, Fischer has long soared beyond being labelled “promising”; she’s already a player of solid maturity, her range of expression only perhaps falling short in the humour department. She doesn’t know how to wink.

What a team player, though. One of the joys of this Brahms Violin Concerto is her union with Kreizberg’s orchestra: for all the long stretches of orchestral ruminations, when pitched together they genuinely seem joined at the hip.

She’s equally closely intertwined with Daniel Müller-Schott, her gifted partner in the Double Concerto, and a regular colleague in performances of chamber music. Some soloists tinge the piece with mellow fruitfulness; this duo aims for spring freshness. Each player strikes sparks off the other; the electric charge is formidable. Forget the myth of Brahms the dull dog; he’s not to be found anywhere on this disc.

PentaTone’s sound is, as usual, impressive: the label wasn’t founded by former Philips Classics engineers for nothing. I wish they’d spruce up the booklet notes, though: we shouldn’t be reading about what Müller-Schott will be doing in 2006 when the clock has long ago moved on.

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