# ...Bach: Concerto for 2 Violins in D Minor - suggestions?



## ethan417 (Jun 10, 2020)

Hi
I recently listened to Bach: Concerto for 2 Violins in D Minor, BWV 1043 & Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 (Live). Isaac Stern, Itzhak Perlman, New York Philharmonic, Zubin Mehta.

Such a beautiful piece.
I would love to listen to another interpretation.
Any suggestions?
many thanks
- Ethan


----------



## Allegro Con Brio (Jan 3, 2020)

Ethan, I'd recommend you take a look at the lists of recommended recordings that member Trout has compiled - a wonderful resource for discovering interpretations. Here is his list for the Bach Double Concerto. Hope that helps!


----------



## Animal the Drummer (Nov 14, 2015)

Arthur Grumiaux is the guy to look for in Bach. And Mozart. And Brahms. And just about everything else.


----------



## flamencosketches (Jan 4, 2019)

The one I love is Andrew Manze, Rachel Podger & the Academy of Ancient Music. A riveting performance, w/ Manze conducting from the violin, which is something that Bach apparently did frequently, and which is undeniably badass, I think...:










Edit: There is also a great older recording by David and Igor Oistrakh with Eugene Goossens & the Royal Philharmonic on DG.


----------



## Coach G (Apr 22, 2020)

Isaac Stern and Yehudi Menuhin with Leonard Bernstien and the NYPO from the Concert of the Century album.


----------



## premont (May 7, 2015)

Coach G said:


> Isaac Stern and Yehudi Menuhin with Leonard Bernstien and the NYPO from the Concert of the Century album.


Among pre-HIP interpretations I do not think the Archiv recording with Wolfgang Schneiderhan and Rudolf Baumgartner has been surpassed. Among HIP recordings I prefer another Archiv recording with Simon Standage and Elisabeth Wilcock ens. led by Trevor Pinnock. A newer favorite is the recording with Linda Quan and Stanley Ritchie ens. led by Albert Fuller.

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8059652--baroque-favorites


----------



## Marc (Jun 15, 2007)

premont said:


> Among pre-HIP interpretations I do not think the Archiv recording with Wolfgang Schneiderhan and Rudolf Baumgartner has been surpassed. Among HIP recordings I prefer another Archiv recording with Simon Standage and Elisabeth Wilcock ens. led by Trevor Pinnock. A newer favorite is the recording with Linda Quan and Stanley Ritchie ens. led by Albert Fuller.
> 
> https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8059652--baroque-favorites


I have a weak spot for the DG stereo Zino Francescatti / Régis Pasquier / Festival Strings Lucerne (again) recording, this time with Rudolf Baumgartner only as conductor. Even though I admit that Schneiderhan & Baumgartner are less romantic in their approach and therefore slightly preferable. But for those who have a problem with the mono sound, the 2nd Festival Strings Lucerne recording might be a good alternative.

It's very difficult to pick a favourite Period Instrument recording, there are many good and interesting players in this 'field'… but I've always appreciated the Virgin recording with Elizabeth Wallfisch & Alison Bury, accompanied by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (continuo: Paul Nicholson) very much.


----------



## Allegro Con Brio (Jan 3, 2020)

I think the classic Menuhin/Enescu showcases a special rapport that is definitely worth hearing. 

I’m often somewhat confused that this is one of Bach’s most well-known and beloved works, because I find it to be relatively trivial and uninvolving music compared to the general standard of his ouevre and even the gorgeous two concerti for solo violin. But hey, it’s Bach and we’re absolutely spoiled with his riches.


----------



## Olias (Nov 18, 2010)

Hilary Hahn is my personal favorite.


----------



## annaw (May 4, 2019)

Olias said:


> Hilary Hahn is my personal favorite.
> 
> View attachment 138004


It's been some time since I last listened to Bach's concerti more thoroughly but as far as I can remember Hahn and Fischer, whom also some really like, play them much quicker than Oistrakh and Manze but it's largely a question of preference, I think. All have certainly their great merits!


----------



## Haydn man (Jan 25, 2014)

Two versions I enjoy are
Elizabeth Wallfisch and Alison Bury with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment for HIP
Salvatore Accardo and Anne-Sophie Mutter with the ECO for a more modern style


----------



## Olias (Nov 18, 2010)

annaw said:


> It's been some time since I last listened to Bach's concerti more thoroughly but as far as I can remember Hahn and Fischer, whom also some really like, play them much quicker than Oistrakh and Manze but it's largely a question of preference, I think. All have certainly their great merits!


YES! You are absolutely correct. HH does take swifter tempi, which is one reason I like it so much. I feel it gives the music more energy without sacrificing clarity. It is a personal preference so I suggest listening to others mentioned as well.


----------



## Olias (Nov 18, 2010)

Also, check out HH's live performance of Bach's A Minor and E Major Concerti here:


----------



## Animal the Drummer (Nov 14, 2015)

Got to say I'm less taken with Hilary Hahn's Bach recording than, for example, with her Elgar concerto, which I love despite the somewhat flabby and self-indulgent conducting of the accompaniment by Colin Davis. It isn't the speed of the Bach that bothers me so much as the relative harshness of approach that comes with it (IMHO of course), which I suspect lies behind the heavy application of brakes at the end of most movements in partial compensation. She's an artist I greatly admire and respect, but I regret this particular recording doesn't do it for me.


----------



## Olias (Nov 18, 2010)

Animal the Drummer said:


> Got to say I'm less taken with Hilary Hahn's Bach recording than, for example, with her Elgar concerto, which I love despite the somewhat flabby and self-indulgent conducting of the accompaniment by Colin Davis. It isn't the speed of the Bach that bothers me so much as the relative harshness of approach that comes with it (IMHO of course), which I suspect lies behind the heavy application of brakes at the end of most movements in partial compensation. She's an artist I greatly admire and respect, but I regret this particular recording doesn't do it for me.


That's okay. That's why there are so many artists to choose from, everyone's taste is different.


----------



## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

The Grumiaux has always been special. Otherwise I would go HIP ..


----------



## Simplicissimus (Feb 3, 2020)

For years I only had one recording of Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins, BWV 1043, in my CD collection. It’s the Heifetz/Friedman performance with Malcolm Sargent on RCA Living Stereo. I decided I wanted to add a HIP performance and I ended up getting two, neither of which is in Trout’s list: Alice Harnoncourt and Walter Pfeiffer with Nikolaus Harnoncourt and the Concentus musicus Wien (1967, Teldec/Das Alte Werk), and Monica Hugget and Alison Bury with Ton Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra (1985, Erato).

The Harnoncourt performance is relatively slow and graceful with a smooth, integrated sound. I find Alice Harnoncourt’s playing very attractive, with little vibrato but strong tone and beautiful phrasing. The Hugget/Bury performance is faster and generally lively with greater tempo differences between fast and slow movements, as is characteristic for Koopman. Koopman’s harpsichord continuo is noticeable but not obtrusive. (There is a harpsichord as part of the mostly string continuo in the Harnoncourt performance, but it is barely audible.) Also characteristic of Koopman is the occasional prominence of individual instruments in the orchestra during certain passages. This generally creates an interesting effect, though sometimes it sounds out of place to me. Hugget’s playing is somewhat adventurous compared to Harnoncourt’s. I tend to like her interpretations, but this one might not be to everyone’s taste.

Going back to Heifetz after a period of HIP listening, his performance sounds rather Romantic. The orchestra is less prominent than in the two HIP versions, and I like the way the two violins really stand out. Heifetz’s vibrato and sweet tone are really noticeable in comparison to HIP violinists.

I’m looking forward to listening to the other recordings of this work that have been suggested in this thread.


----------



## StrE3ss (Feb 20, 2019)

Love this one :


----------



## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Allegro Con Brio said:


> I think the classic Menuhin/Enescu showcases a special rapport that is definitely worth hearing.
> 
> I'm often somewhat confused that this is one of Bach's most well-known and beloved works, because I find it to be relatively trivial and uninvolving music compared to the general standard of his ouevre and even the gorgeous two concerti for solo violin. But hey, it's Bach and we're absolutely spoiled with his riches.


Can't agree with you here, as far as the Bach concertos go I think it is a stand out work. The quasi fugal dazzling outer movements and that gorgeous slow movement, a highly unique work, and probably more innovative than the other two violin concertos. I think this concerto is deservedly highly regarded.

Here are some notes on it by the Netherlands Bach Society:

*Unusual*

"The best eight minutes of music ever."

The two solo parts of this concerto have survived in Bach's own handwriting. This autograph dates from around 1730, a few years after the composer had moved from Köthen to Leipzig. Bach composed most of his instrumental concertos in the period 1717-1723, while working at the court of Leopold von Anhalt-Köthen, but this work appears to be an exception. However, it may not be that simple.

At first sight, this is a concerto in three movements in Vivaldian style and is similar to other concertos by Bach. But a more careful reading and hearing reveal peculiarities regarding, for example, the traditional contrast effects between refrains (ritornellos) and the solo episodes in between. Here, these building blocks are less demarcated than usual. Indeed, all three movements have actually been composed in three parts. The first movement, for example, is modelled on a fugue, but the viola withdraws from the fugal discourse. This concerto could also be performed as a trio sonata for two violins and basso continuo, and it probably originated as such. Does this bring us back to Köthen?

After the fugal opening movement, a dreamy siciliano unfolds, in which the two solo violin parts intertwine lovingly above a simple accompaniment of chords. "The best eight minutes of music ever", says solo violinist Emily Deans.

In the last movement, the two solo violins are hot on each other's heels. Even more so than the first movement, this Allegro fuels the suspicion that the parts for the accompanying ensemble were added later. The fact that Bach has the solo violins play accompanying figures (repeated quavers in double stops) for seven bars twice during the argument is in contradiction, to say the least, to the hypothesis of a trio sonata. The composer is here playing puss in the corner, as in these passages the actual solo parts have simply been transferred to the accompanying ensemble. Soloists Shunske Sato and Emily Deans enjoy this "head bashing, rock-and-roll moment" - whatever the origins might be.

https://www.bachvereniging.nl/en/bwv/bwv-1043/


----------



## premont (May 7, 2015)

Here it is arranged as trio sonata. Good and somewhat energetic interpretation:

https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/metamorphose/hnum/9659192


----------

