Search - Ludwig van Beethoven, Jean Sibelius, Sixten Ehrling :: Beethoven/Sibelius: Violin Concertos

One of the two best

Musicus | Oslo, Norway | 06/17/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Five stars, in spite of two things: poor sound quality (1954) and the fact that I am not impressed by the Sibelius concerto - Heifetz/Hendl better, Stern/Ormandy better. Five stars because this perfect Beethoven performance in spite of poor sound has a wonderful, antique atmosphere, an air of patina and a passion more than able to carry this even above the top five stars. It seems very difficult to play Beethoven's Violin Concerto with both the dignity and the passion this work - so different from all other Beethoven - demands. Here Oistrakh and Ehrling prove able to keep it capturing to the very end! I have many recordings of this concerto, but the only CD that I find equally good and, from another point of view, significantly better, is again by Oistrakh, with Cluytens & Orchestre National de la Radiodiffusion Française (1958), which is slower, grander and has more dignity to the pacing, but not the same passion. That one - Legend: David Oistrakh [CD & DVD] - will be released in the US on July 19 and I'll return to it then. Anyway, this Oistrakh/Ehrling from 1954 is very impassionate and in full right on its own merit. Passionately recommended!"

One of the best Beethoven recordings you'll ever hear

Alice Taniyama | Houston, Texas United States | 01/23/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Finding the perfect recording of the Beethoven violin concerto is a daunting task, if not an impossible one. So many virtuoso performers insist on playing the piece as if it were written 100 years later than it was, showing off their technical excellence in lieu of the purity, the serenity, and the astounding depth of the greatest violin concerto ever written. I have tried many, many recordings of the piece, and it took this one for me to settle, at least, on a favorite.



Beethoven was a serious man. He meant his dynamic and tempo markings, so when a Nigel Kennedy performance drifts from one tempo during the tutti portions to a completely different tempo during the solo portions, it drifts away from Beethoven. When Anne-Sophie Mutter and the like insert rubato where there ought not be any, they insert something running against the grain of the composition, and it stands out as such. When Pinchas Zuckerman, so wonderful on the Beethoven sonatas, takes some parts at an agonizingly slow pace, the listener can almost see Beethoven wincing in agony. Heifetz makes the piece fun, but even he turns it into a showpiece, a race more than a work of art.



And then there is David Oistrakh. With this performance, every note is in its proper place. Every phrase is as it should be. Every heartbeat of the kettle drum in the first movement signifies a Beethoven performance that is alive and simply transcendent. Nothing distracts from the superb structure, the wonderful sound, or the flawless interpretation.



While there are other wonderful recordings of Beethoven (e.g. Zino Francescatti with Bruno Walter, which also comes with an Oistrakh version of Sibelius), this one is the best. If it is not in your musical library, it should be."