Search - Tchaikovsky; Bruch; Saint Saens :: Zino Francescatti In Performance

Live performances from a master of the violin

klavierspiel | TX, USA | 05/25/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Zino Francescatti (1902-1991) was one of the great violinists of the twentieth century. Though perhaps somewhat thrown into the shade during his active concert career, as were many virtuosi, by the towering figure of Heifetz, he now more than holds his own on his numerous recordings, which may especially appeal to those connoisseurs of violin playing who find Heifetz a bit too overbearing.



These recordings of three warhorses of the Romantic violin concerto repertoire are taken from various live broadcasts. In the Tchaikovsky and Bruch especially the violinist's warmth of tone, ingratiating phrasing and technical accuracy--remember, these are live performances--are certainly impressive, with the Adagio of the Bruch being especially touching. The American orchestras play with involvement under the batons of Rodzinski and Frank Black respectively, and the period monophonic sound has been cleaned up without compromising the vividness of the solo instrument.



Francescatti's studio recording of the Saint-Saens B minor Concerto with Mitropoulos was highly acclaimed and remains a classic; the live performance on this CD with Charles Munch does nothing to supplant it, partly because the broadcast sound is much lower in quality than in the other two performances on this disc, being muffled and congested, with the solo violin frequently covered, but also because for whatever reason Francescatti sounds much less secure here, with one or two passages in the middle movement going off-kilter and a noticeable number of off-center notes and missed shifts sprinkled throughout. Still, this recording overall is worth hearing as more than just a historical document. The packaging of the CD, incidentally, is deluxe, with a lengthy essay on Francescatti by the late Henry Roth that originally appeared in the Strad magazine, though the recordings discussed do not include the ones actually on the CD."