Violinkonzert D-Dur op. 61 - 5. Teil

Beethoven composed his only finished violin concerto in 1806/07, and dedicated it to Stephan von Breuning, a childhood friend from Bonn with whom he also shared the “Red House” at Garnisongasse 9 for a time in 1804. The piano arrangement of the violin concerto was dedicated to Breuning’s wife, Julie von Vering.

This performance by Polish violinist Bronisław Huberman (1882–1947) is among the earliest recordings of the violin concerto – and one of the most important, too. The tempo of his version of the monumental opening movement, with its characteristic rhythmic theme driven by the timpani, is based in on the metronome setting used by Beethoven’s pupil Carl Czerny. The sample starts with the solo cadenza and ends with the short coda of the opening movement. Huberman's interpretation stands out thanks to his unfussy playing style and a strong overarching sense of rhythm. On this recording, made in 1934, he is accompanied by the Vienna Philharmonic under Hungarian conductor George Szell (1897–1970), who attached particular importance to the precision of the orchestra’s playing. Both musicians later emigrated to the USA. Huberman founded what is now the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra in 1936, while Szell became principal conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra in 1947.
(Constanze Köhn)