Emotionally charged violin concert
Antja Weithaas and the Camerata Bern have recorded the second violin concerto by Pēteris Vasks.
In his music, Pēteris Vasks searches for the last things. The Latvian composer wants to "feed the soul" and emphasizes the importance of emotions for his tonal musical language. His second violin concerto, composed in 2020 Vakara gaismā (In the evening light) unfolds a great deal of emotion and has great breath. A melancholy undertone lies over the five-movement work, which is mostly written in a minor key, but also contains combative passages and dissolves spherically in the bright light at the end. A last ray of sunshine before night falls, which the spiritual composer associates with death.
Antje Weithaas and the Camerata Bern dedicate themselves to this work, which is deeply rooted in the Romantic period and in some passages is also pompous, with great intensity and never flagging creative power. The great ups and downs that punctuate the opening Andante con passione have tension and direction. Weithaas' violin sound emerges almost imperceptibly from the tutti. It is only in the Cadenza I, characterized by double stops, that the solo violin comes to the fore. The long-standing artistic director of the Camerata Bern keeps the urgency high. And is able to increase the emotional and rhythmic intensity in the Andante cantabile, which is reminiscent of Shostakovich's music with its manic repetitions and forced string sound. The glissando crashes in Cadenza II are shattering, the clusters in the tutti tell of excitement and resistance. The strings of the Camerata Bern can grab hold, but also lay out a floating carpet. And always reflect the emotionality of the solo violin.
In the finale, the Andante con amore, the emotional struggles are over apart from one last rebellion. At the beginning of the movement, the solo violin floats above the orchestra's organ part as if redeemed. Even in the icy heights of the finale, Antje Weithaas' violin tone never becomes cold, but instead develops warmth and emphasis. 
Pēteris Vasks: Violin Concerto No. 2 (Vakara gaismā/In the evening light). Camerata Bern; Antje Weithaas, violin and conductor. CAvi-music (only available digitally)
