It is a pleasure to listen afresh to these wonderfully
alert and responsive Vivaldi recordings, such is the current dearth
of new ideas and vision in 'The Four Seasons'. Recently leafing through
Richard Osborne's wonderfully detailed biography of Karajan brought
me closer to Manoug Parikian's talent, and it is simply a pity that
no more recordings of this soloists are available. He brings a certain
vision to each and every movement aided, no doubt by Giulini's superbly
cultured conducting, a marriage of bliss, one could say.
Just listening to the easygoing Third Movement of
Spring proves my case with considerable aplomb as the sweet sound of
Parikian's violin melts beautifully with the accompanying strings coaxed
to perfection by Giulini. There is no want of vigour or speed, such
is the abandon of the whirlwind storm that concludes 'Summer' with dashing
violin portamentos and just the right tempo to bring out all the clear
notes. The Italian's fastidious ear for detail is revealed with consummate
passion in the First Movement of 'Winter' which literally bounces about
in the snow.
My selected comparison was I Musici's contemporaneous
account made in 1958 in Switzerland, and if that is a touch more authentic,
I still warmed greatly to Manoug Parikian's immensely cultured playing,
a touch better than Felix Ayo's, or so I thought! Testament also provide
an unpublished stereo 'take' of the 'Autumn' Concerto and one wonders
why this was left dangling in the air for so long, surely it would have
made an enticing 'filler' with superb sound and playing to boot. Giulini's
Boccherini recordings also clamour for our attention. Super-refined
readings of the Overture in C and Symphony in D may not be to everyone's
taste, but one can only marvel at the diversity and brilliance of the
Philharmonia in its glory days.
The Symphony is a particular gem, played with effervescent
bucolity and frivolous charm, it comes across as an immensely pleasing
work. EMI's engineering is adequate, although I thought that Karajan's
similarly periodic recordings were taped with brighter intensity that
is occasionally lacking from this balance. I am still amazed that EMI
have left these brilliant recordings languishing for so long and once
again, Testament is to be congratulated for its enterprise and dynamic
understanding of the importance behind these legendary reissues. I look
forward to the Mozart 'Don Giovanni' with Klemperer (Cologne 1955) and
that legendary 'Gotterdamerung' (1951, Knappertsbusch) released this
month.