Word: laredo
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Bach's Concerto for Two Violins was a useful way to compare Josefowicz and Laredo. Though she came closer to technical perfection (his bowing suffered slightly from his need to conduct), he blended more fully with the ensemble. Though she was more visibly enthusiastic in performance, he was more vigorous in the fast outer movements...
Their perfect accord in the largo made for the greatest single movement of the evening. This sky-scrapingly beautiful duet is one of Bach's greatest achievements, presaging the slow movements of Mozart violin concertos and Beethoven piano concertos. Standing there, gazing at each other, Josefowicz and Laredo looked like intense conversation partners who just happened to be holding violins: Sensitive to the largo's lullaby cadences, Laredo nudged the ensemble to produce a tender, if totally subdued, accompaniment...
...concerto, K. 271, is Mozart's best such early work. It shows a surprising willingness to disturb the conventionally perfect balance between soloist and orchestra and is driven mostly by the pianist, who must have great endurance. Haefliger, who played with an accompanist's ear when necessary, gracefully allowed Laredo to rescue the concerto from merely unilateral appeal...
...technique that can handle the Tchaikovsky and Sibelius concertos, Josefowicz was not troubled by the simpler Haydn and focused on achieving beauty of tone. She made even spiccato bowings sound lovely. Her upper register was uniformly pure, and she was better than before at blending; she and Laredo made a good team...
...Laredo seems to be a better symphony conductor than a concerto conductor, since the Mozart offered him a chance to think like the concertmaster he used to be. The strings were together and the winds were together. If Laredo's choice of tempi was often less than daring, he made up for it by successfully turning the minuet into a scherzo. He seemed to want the fourth movement to sound like Mendelssohn's "Italian" symphony, with pleasing results...