Review: Violinist Christian Tetzlaff Performs Brahms with LACO

December 13, 2023, 3:43 PM · In describing the opening of the Brahms Violin Concerto, German violinist Christian Tetzlaff has called the solo violin entrance "one wild fury attack."

On Sunday at UCLA's Royce Hall, as the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO) and Jaime Martín performed its long and exuberant orchestral introduction to that piece, Tetzlaff waited with such stillness and reserve that it was hard to believe that such an explosion was imminent.

That is, until Tetzlaff suddenly flung his entire body and being into it, producing what felt like a tornado of sound and motion.

It was clear from that moment that this violinist was all in, aiming straight at the listener with the uninhibited energy and physicality of his playing, the heart in his vibrato and the clarity of his musical message.

Violinist Christian Tetzlaff, performing with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra on 12/10/23. Photo by Brian Feinzimer.

Tetzlaff last performed in Los Angeles in 2020 - just before the pandemic, when he played the Beethoven Violin Concerto with LACO. As he did then, this time he also gave a master class beforehand (which I did attend - watch for a write up of that master class in the next few weeks). In that class, he coached a student playing this very piece, emphasizing the performer's responsibility to find the humanity in this thicket of notes.

Indeed, throughout the remainder of his performance on Sunday, the intensity of Tetzlaff's message never flagged, whether he was delivering emphatic double-stops, playing beautiful filigree high on the E string or dissolving into silence.

And Tetzlaff has a message that is worth listening to, something that goes well past the notes and reaches into the raw emotional territory of this music. Nothing feels unintentional, but sometimes it does feel uncomfortable - because discomfort is part of the message.

For example, his playing is not always politely "quantized" with the orchestra, hitting every beat like a metronome. It's a human pulse - a heartbeat that speeds up with excitement, or a series of breaths result in a long sigh. In leading up to one of the first movement's beautiful melodies, there was an intentional pushing of the tempo, pressing anticipation almost to a point of impatience - then as the melody spilled out in all its beauty, everything fell back in sync, relaxing into the orchestra's sure pulse. He uses that rhythmic tension between soloist and orchestra to create a certain feeling.

There is no being lulled to sleep by predictability, with Tetzlaff on the stage.

In the first movement, Tetzlaff played Joseph Joachim's original cadenza (which in our interview, he called "an organic part of the piece" and " a touching, direct connection to history," since Joachim was the concerto's dedicatee and first performer). Again, each gesture was delivered with its own rhythmic flow, with the cadenza ending in beautiful high playing that dovetailed into the orchestra's final statement.

The second movement began with an arresting solo by LACO's principal oboist Claire Brazeau, a melody then repeated by the soloist. Tetzlaff illustrated this movement's many changing moods. From the simple opening melody, changing to something more dark and brooding - this was heart-on-sleeve playing. The third movement, with its flurry of notes, brought a lot of fast and kinetic playing, Tetzlaff always demonstrating an interesting path through it.

After three standing ovations, Tetzlaff played the third-movement "Andante" from Bach's Sonata No. 2 in A minor for solo violin as an encore. In this music the violin plays on two strings throughout, a melody on one string over a gentle pulse on another. Tetzlaff's voicing was beautiful, the melody forming a clear and expressive through-line, from beginning to end. Masterful Bach.

The late Romantic drama of Brahms' Violin Concerto contrasted with the lighter first half of the program, which began with Rossini's Overture to the comic opera "The Italian Girl in Algiers," followed by Mozart's Symphony No. 39. The Rossini was full of humor, with wonderful solos in the woodwinds and impressive precision all around.

For the classical music lover, Mozart's Symphony No. 39 is full of familiar melodies; for the violinist it also contains audition fare - well-worn orchestral excerpts such as the opening of the second movement. How satisfying to hear it played with such full commitment, musicians coordinating and looking at one another as chamber players do. The dreaded excerpt felt instead like an old friend - so warm, it even seemed to wink. The third movement (which conductor Martín described as being the only movement that was a little "Christmas-sy") was indeed a jolly minuet - even feeling like musical laughter in places. The fourth movement brought very intricate and accurate playing, with the precision of the silences as important as the well-coordinated sound.

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Replies

Diana Skinner

December 14, 2023 at 12:21 PM · What an intriguing review about an absolutely intriguing performer! "There is no being lulled to sleep by predictability, with Tetzlaff on the stage." I hope to have the good fortune to hear him live at some point.