Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1

Violin Concerto No. 1, Op. 26: I. Vorspiel. Allegro moderato
II. Adagio III. Finale. Allegro energico; Romanze, Op. 85 for Violin & Orchestra; In der Nacht, Op. 72 (arranged for Violin & Orchestra by Jan Peter Klöpfel).

Eldbjørg Hemsing
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra & Gergely Madaras
Sony Classical / 19658813461

Few violin concertos have been recorded as often as Max Bruch's Violin Concerto No 1 in G minor, Op 26. It is a perennial favourite and has more than once topped Classic FM's Hall of Fame, so any new recording has plenty of competition. The Norwegian violinist Eldbjørg Hemsing's version on Sony Classical, with the Oslo Philharmonic under Gergely Madaras, earns its place.

Her association with the concerto, and with this orchestra, goes back to her childhood, when she first played it in Oslo. It has stayed with her ever since, and each return to the score showed her something fresh. She held off recording it until she felt her relationship with the work had matured, and you can hear that patience in the playing. Her reading is romantic and carefully shaped, and it grows from her belief that Bruch wrote above all for a violin that sings.

The performance is polished throughout. Her tone is equally secure in the low and high registers as she drives the first movement forward, and Madaras and the Oslo players support her with warmth and clarity. The Adagio is the real highlight. Hemsing regards the slow movement as the emotional core of the work, and her playing bears that out. She lets Bruch's long lines unfold with great delicacy, warmth and resonance, and her own musical personality comes through without ever pushing the music aside.

The joyful finale shows off her virtuosity in crisp spiccato and confident double-stopping, and the movement never loses its energetic pulse. Even so, the display is never an end in itself. Her flexible bowing and well-judged vibrato are a pleasure from start to finish.

Two Lyrical Companions

The two shorter works that follow the concerto are both delightful. First comes Bruch's song In der Nacht, Op 72, heard here in Jan-Peter Klöpfel's new version for violin and orchestra. It is a gorgeous miniature, played with the same care and intimacy.

Next is the Romance, Op 85, which Bruch wrote for viola and orchestra. Hemsing has taken the solo line from the composer's version for violin and piano and set it against his original orchestration. Remarkably, it sits comfortably on the violin without a single note needing to be moved. She plays its lovely melody with great delicacy, and the Oslo Philharmonic balance the accompaniment perfectly. The piece has a lightness and grace that suit the violin surprisingly well.

The album ends with a four-minute edit of the concerto's Adagio. It is the kind of excerpt that suits radio play and streaming playlists, and it is a fitting encore, since this movement is where Hemsing's playing is at its most eloquent. Taken as a whole, this is a recording that deserves a place on any collector's shelf.