Search - Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky, Alfred Wallenstein, Gilbert Varga :: Tschaikowsky: Concerto for Violin & Orchestra in D major, Op. 35; Serenade for Strings in C major, Op.

Perlman's Earliest Tchaikovsky Concerto Recording

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 07/19/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Itzhak Perlman has recorded the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto a number of times. No wonder, as it's a work that he is intimately associated with and one that perfectly matches his style of playing, with that big sweet tone, juicy vibrato, ability to spin a long legato line, perfect intonation even in the most technically awesome passages and, possibly most important, his big-hearted generosity of spirit. If ever there was a violinist born to play this concerto, it's Perlman. And this performance is, if I'm not mistaken, his very first recording of it, undertaken when he was just 21. He is accompanied by the London Symphony under Alfred Wallenstein, himself a very fine string player (once Toscanini's principal cellist in the New York Philharmonic) and long the conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The recording, from 1967, was originally released in the then popular Reader's Digest collection. I frankly don't recall seeing it reissued since then. We are, then, fortunate to have this performance back in circulation. Anyone familiar with any of Perlman's other recordings (including the one with Erich Leinsdorf that came out within a year of this one) will know what they are in for. But for those who don't know his playing, they should expect to be beguiled. The recording sound to some extent shows its age, but this is not a big problem, and frankly the warmth and richness attendant to the then-current analog recording technique is a plus.



The coupling, recorded in 1994 and in fabulous sound, is Tchaikovsky's wonderful 'Serenade for Strings in C Major, Op. 48.' I have to add a personal note here: When I was a child in the boondocks of Oklahoma, one of the highlights of every week was the broadcast of concerts by the Oklahoma City Symphony. And their opening theme-song was the third movement of the Serenade, the so-called 'Elegy.' I cannot hear that section without be transported back to those early days of burgeoning joy in the discovery of the marvelous world of classical music. This performance, by the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra (Stuttgarter Kammerorchester) under Gilbert Varga is rich in sound, with a wonderful surrounding ambiance, and is beautifully phrased and articulated. My only quibble with the performance is the almost moderate tempo of the Allegro con spirito of the fourth movement; it doesn't catch fire as it should, although it is gorgeously played by the Stuttgart strings.



If you have other Perlman recordings of the Tchaikovsky, you probably don't need this release unless you are, like many others, a devoted fan of Perlman's. And with the slight exception noted above, the 'Serenade' is a fine performance and recording.



TT=70:30



Scott Morrison"