Brahms: Violin Concerto, Double Concerto

1	Violin Concerto in D majo
2	Violin Concerto in D majo
3	Violin Concerto in D majo
4	Concerto for violin, cell
5	Concerto for violin, cell
6	Concerto for violin, cell
Brahms: Violin Concerto, Double Concerto
1.	Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 77 40:04
	Composed by Johannes Brahms
	Performed by Jascha Heifetz, Vadim Repin, Gewandhaus Orchestra and Henrik Wahlgren
	Conducted by Riccardo Chailly
2.	Concerto for violin, cello & orchestra in A minor ("Double"), Op. 102 32:52
	Composed by Johannes Brahms
	Conducted by Riccardo Chailly
	Performed by Truls Mørk, Vadim Repin and Gewandhaus Orchestra

All Music Guide

Following on the heels of his highly successful recording of the Beethoven "Violin Concerto," Russian violinist Vadim Repin continues his survey of the core repertoire with this album featuring the Brahms "Violin Concerto" and "Double Concerto." Accompanied by the Gewandhaus Orchestra under Riccardo Chailly, Repin' performance of Brahms is every bit as sensitive, vivacious, and well-thought-out as his Beethoven. Brahms despised hearing his music performed metronomically rigid, always preferring for tempo to be more of a fluid concept. Repin and Chailly are quite attuned to this preference, and the two produce music that is like a dynamic, flowing dialogue. This never comes across as excessive use of rubato or over-Romanticizing; Repin is very controlled in his use of pacing from the sensuous middle movement to the capricious finale. His tone is clear, powerful across the entire range of his instrument, and warm while still penetrating easily above the orchestra. Unlike the vast majority of recordings of this work that use the first-movement cadenza by Joseph Joachim, Repin chooses Heifetz's cadenza; while some may find this an overly showy, ostentatious interjection, it is still interesting to hear something other than what is expected.

Repin is joined by cellist Truls Mørk for the "Double Concerto," Brahms' final orchestra composition. The two soloists do a splendid job of blending tone, articulation, balance, and intonation throughout the dialogue-filled concerto. Deutsche Grammophon's digital sound is clean while still voluminous and present. The liner notes spend a bit too much time lauding the recording itself instead of describing the music at hand. Mike Brownell

BBC Music Magazine

[Repin's] dazzling technique aside, the firm, warm tone, magnificent control of phrasing and rhythmic incisiveness are all tailor-made for the [Brahms concerto]. It's an impressively full-bodied reading: the sense of gypsy abandonment that he brings to the finale is most infectious, and Riccardo Chailly's direction of the Gewandhausorchester is with him all the way.... An equally memorable account of the Double Concerto. Calum MacDonald