About this Artist

• Biography

Editorial Reviews

Violinist and pedagogue André Gertler is perhaps best known as a staunch advocate of the music of Béla Bartók who edited some of Bartók's music and, with Josef Suk, gave the first performance of Bartók's "44 Duos for two violins." After Bartók's death, Gertler became a prolific recording artist who undertook all manner of violin works by contemporary composers, including these two centrally significant, though neglected, modern concerti by Gian Francesco Malipiero and Alfredo Casella. They were written in 1932 and 1928, respectively, by composers both working under the spell of Stravinsky and neo-Classicism, yet dealing with the impact of that style in different ways. Supraphon's Malipiero/Casella: Violin Concertos, though recorded in 1971 and 1974, remains the sole recording of the Malipiero, and the Casella is represented in only one other version.

Gertler's playing is thin-toned, light, wispy, flexible, and fleet in a manner reminiscent of David Oistrakh, who was a great friend of Gertler's. The Malipiero is a remarkable concerto, rich with attractive, ear-catching harmonies and highly involved writing for the violin that makes full use of its resources -- the third-movement cadenza is awe-inspiring. This concerto's obscurity is hard to fathom, as one wonders if, apart from his early string quartet "Rispetti e Strambotti," this isn't some of the finest music Malipiero left. With Casella's tougher concerto, the neglect is a little easier to grasp, as his "Violin Concerto in A minor" is a long work, not nearly as dense and thorny as his much-better-known "Triple Concerto" (1933) but in ways nearly as complex and challenging. Gertler is thoroughly accomplished in both concerti; conductor Václav Smetácek had just retired from full-time conducting in 1974 and the enthusiasm of his orchestra begins to wane a bit toward the end of the second movement of the Casella, a trend that continues for the rest of the recording. Smetácek does manage to hold it together, and one does not blame him for the result -- this piece is a lot of work.

Although the ambience of Smetana Hall in Prague proves rather dry in this instance, Supraphon's recording is remarkably clear, up front, and not at all noisy. While one would hope that in time some enterprising violinist would take a second crack at the Malipiero, in both cases these vintage Gertler recordings are entirely serviceable in representing both of these important concerti. Uncle Dave Lewis, All Music Guide

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