The evening recital was the first in a three-part series devoted to the complete Beethoven Violin Sonatas. Tetzlaff and Lonquich are traversing them in chronological order, so none of the famous crowd-pleasing later works were on the program - just the three well-behaved Sonatas Op. 12 and the more agitated Sonata Op. 23.
All four pieces can sound unexceptional in lesser hands, but these players practice a kind of weightless, dance-like chamber music, sparkling in tone, liquid in phrasing. By reading certain musical ideas against the grain and bringing out a vast and unexpected range of instrumental colors, they made each work buzz with fresh life.
The German-born Lonquich here was a truly equal partner, playing with a grace and imagination that made one wonder why he is not heard more often in this country. The Beethoven series continues tomorrow and Thursday. I cannot recommend it more highly.
At the matinee program, after Levine led the BSO in a hard-driving account of Stravinsky’s revolutionary score, Tetzlaff offered a reading of the Brahms Concerto that was at once immensely virtuosic and deeply personal. From his very first entrance, this was viscerally explosive violin playing, but always with a sense of purpose and a richness of inner life. One can clinically analyze how he does it: the warm vibrato in fast phrases that usually go without, the tasteful portamento, the focused intensity of tone production through the very tip of the bow, the vast range of dynamics and articulation (Tetzlaff seems to have as many pianissimos as the Inuit proverbially have words for snow). But I think what ultimately moves people is the emotional openness and deep sincerity of Tetzlaff’s playing. He reminds you why you came.
As an encore, Tetzlaff played a movement of solo Bach as the orchestra sat silently on stage. In what might be the ultimate compliment, you could see a couple of the BSO string players - hard-bitten musicians who have heard it all - listening with their eyes closed.
Jeremy Eichler can be reached at Jeichler@globe.com
