Search - Ludwig van Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, David Oistrakh :: Beethoven: Violin Concerto; Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante

Beethoven: Violin Concerto; Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante
Ludwig van Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, David Oistrakh
Beethoven: Violin Concerto; Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante
Genre: Classical
 
  •  Track Listings (6) - Disc #1

Recorded live at London's Royal Albert Hall in 1963, this disc brings together three superb artists for two extraordinary performances. In Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante, with Menuhin conducting, Igor Oistrakh on violin sou...  more »

     
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Recorded live at London's Royal Albert Hall in 1963, this disc brings together three superb artists for two extraordinary performances. In Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante, with Menuhin conducting, Igor Oistrakh on violin sounds bright and radiant, his father, David, on viola dark and warm; with great charm, brilliance, and obvious mutual enjoyment, they play to and off each other in questioning, diverging phrases that come together in triumphant, ecstatic affirmation. Weaving a tapestry of transparent lines, they bring out Mozart's mercurial moods from devil-may-care exuberance and soaring lyricism to despairing lamentation. With David Oistrakh conducting, Menuhin plays the Beethoven concerto. Though he no longer had complete mastery of fingers and bow, the buoyancy of his rhythm, the incandescent intensity of his tone, and his deeply personal expressiveness were undiminished. The second movement is simply heavenly: very slow, calm, serene, inward, with a floating, disembodied air, absolutely perfect in tone, tempo, mood, it finally fades into the distance like a dream. His 1947 recording with the Luzern Festival Orchestra under Wilhelm Furtwängler (Testament STB 1109) offers a fascinating comparison. Here, his technique is impeccable, smooth, effortless, and, except for the truly incomparable slow movement of 1963, his playing is no less beautiful in tone and moving in expression. As was customary at the time but is rare today, Furtwängler constantly changes tempo along with character and dynamics; however, he was famous for his ability to make such liberties sound entirely natural and organic. --Edith Eisler
 

CD Reviews

The Recording of a Century
Anton Dam | San Jose, CA | 03/15/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is perhaps the greatest recording of Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante around, equaled only by the Perlman/Zukerman recording and even that is a maybe. The playin contrasts two ages of the violin, the great age of Heifetz, Milstein, Menuhin and David Oistrakh in contrast to that of Kremer, Perlman, Zukerman and Igor Oistrakh. The first is a style of incredible freedom, personality and expression combined with aged discipline. The latter, is a playing with the strictest discipline imaginable, yet that of a warm romantic tone. The interpretation of the Beethoven Concerto by this declining Menuhin is maybe the last time the world saw the true greatness of this ultimate prodigy. The playing of the first movement is filled with a drama that touches your very heart, as does the second. The third is a exceptionally classical interpretation. Overall, the Beethoven is played with a warm, remarkably free, and somewhat reminiscent of Georges Enescu. Though there are some minute problems with technique, which many this cold day would scorn, the musicality and heart displayed here is perhaps only equaled by the greatest recording's of Bach's Chaconne."