COMPOSERS: Beethoven/Bach/Mozart
LABELS: DG
WORKS: Violin Sonata in F (Spring), Op. 24; Partita in D minor; Adagio in E, K261
PERFORMER: David Garrett (violin)Alexander Markovich (piano)
CATALOGUE NO: 445 657-2 DDD
At 14, David Garrett is no gimcrack wunderkind trotting out hackneyed showpieces, but a phenomenally complete artist, assaying seminal masterworks with an intensity of purpose that defies understanding. He plays Beethoven’s Spring Sonata with authority and unalloyed passion; purity of line and elegant decorum reflect an uncanny colloquy with this demanding work. Sophisticated modulation of nuance and texture suggest maturity, from a violinist barely into his teens.
That Garrett has elected to tackle the violinistic Everest of Bach’s D minor Partita is compelling proof of his seriousness of intent. That he emerges triumphant is little short of incredible. The concentration and severity applied to a work of such gravity is staggering. The razor-honed intonation and awareness of style and proportion are extraordinary; his account of the monumental Chaconne occasions both disbelief and anxiety. Garrett’s enraptured reading of Mozart’s Adagio completes a unique recital.
He is accompanied with great sensitivity by Alexander Markovich. Recorded sound, too, is admirable. David Garrett is already the stuff of legend – in him is enshrined an entire corpus of virtuoso violin art, expounded with a fearsome beauty beyond comprehension.