Pina Carmirelli · Concerto Recordings 1963-1967

January 2021 ∙ MusicWeb International ∙ Pina Carmirelli ∙ Concerto Recordings 1963-1967
It’s with great enthusiasm that I welcome another batch of live and radio studio recordings from the Meloclassic label. The focus of this release is the Italian violinist Pina Carmerelli, who many will be familiar with from her work with I Musici. In 2017, the label released a 2 CD set of works for violin and piano, which I had had the pleasure of reviewing. Now, attention is turned to two radio studio recordings with orchestra set down in the 1960s of concertos by Brahms and Prokofiev. At the end of the opening orchestral tutti of Brahms Violin Concerto, I find Carmirelli a little lacking dramatic punch, and as the movement progresses the pace and feel are a little too laid back for my liking. Maybe Erich Schmid should take some of the blame for not taking the lead and injecting a little more urgency into the reading. Nevertheless, there are some raptly intense moments which tug at the heart strings. She employs the Joachim cadenza with nonchalant ease. The central Adagio is fervent and glowing, with the oboe solo at the beginning beguiling. The Hungarian finale has sufficient fire and passion, and you certainly won’t feel short-changed. The Prokofiev First Concerto was completed in 1917 for the Polish violinist Paul Kochanski, who advised the composer on technical matters. It was long championed by both Josef Szigeti and David Oistrakh. I’ve always preferred it to the Second Concerto. Carmirelli is one of those violinists who possess the tonal opulence and kaleidoscopic range of colour to do this work full justice. I love the way she shapes the natural lyrical outpourings of the dreamy introduction. There’s a glorious section eight minutes in when the violin’s high reaches are accompanied by harp and woodwinds. Ernest Bour proves an inspirational collaborator in the way he supports the soloist, bringing out the very best in her playing. The Scherzo is delivered with outwardly dashing virtuosity, and is both spiky and mercurial. The finale alternates rhapsodic elements with gruff dance rhythms. Carmirelli’s double stops are effortless. The Prokofiev is, without doubt, the gem here, and the disc is worth the price for this performance alone. Lynn Ludwig’s restorations are beyond reproach, and both performances emerge fresh and fine. Documentation by Meloclassic is first class. These recordings make a significant contribution to an otherwise scant discography and should be enthusiastically embraced by violin fanciers. This is playing distinguished by refinement, artful musicianship and polish.
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April 2021 ∙ British Gramophone ∙ Rob Cowan ∙ Pina Carmirelli ∙ Concerto recordings 1963-1967
The Italian violinist Pina Carmirelli, best known as a chamber-music player, who although less the virtuoso than Ferras captures Prokofiev’s fantastical, sardonic world without sacrificing any of its magic. In this she is aided and abetted by excellent stereo sound (1967) and by the SWR SO under Ernest Bour, who liberate more detail from the score than virtually any of their rivals, past or present, commercially recorded or otherwise. Hardly a bar goes by without yielding some or other salient detail that you’ve never noticed before. The coupling for Carmirelli’s Prokofiev is a Beromünster Brahms Concerto from 1963 (mono) under Erich Schmid, who cues a secure opening tutti leading to a less than remarkable first entry by Carmirelli, though things improve dramatically. By the time she reaches Joachim’s cadenza and an outstandingly memorable slow movement, things have improved dramatically.
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