The other releases in this first batch of EMI Triples
tend to pull together recordings that were initially conceived
as series. They include Mariss
Jansons' Rachmaninov cycle,
his complete Dvořák
recordings for
EMI, Blomstedt's first
Nielsen cycle,
Sawallisch's
Brahms cycle
and Martinon's
Ravel.
This issue is different. Under the banner of “Romantic
Violin Concertos”, it resurrects two unconnected discs from
the back catalogue, and adds a third disc that yokes a classic
recording with a performance from one of today's most exciting
young violinists.
The classic recording is, of course, David Oistrakh's
recording of the Beethoven with Cluytens. Of his four studio
recordings of this piece, this one is probably Oistrakh's best,
edging out even his earlier EMI studio performance with Ehrling.
True, that earlier account is perhaps more urgent, and there
is little to complain about in relation to its clean mono sound.
This recording, however, sees Oistrakh at his most refined,
shaping Beethoven's lyrical phrases with a sweet full tone and
classical poise. It helps that he has a sympathetic Beethovenian
on the podium. Cluytens had already begun recording his classy
Beethoven cycle with the Berlin Philharmonic when this recording
was made, and his attention to the detail of the score, clarifying
of internal parts and careful phrasing help to give this recording
its famous beauty. While the violin is balanced forward, Walter
Legge's superb ear never allows it to overwhelm the orchestra.
If you do not own this recording, you need it. Of course, if
you are an Oistrakh fan first and foremost, you may prefer to
acquire this recording in harness with another of his concerto
performances – his Philharmonia performance of Mozart's third
violin concerto – on EMI's Legends series.
If
memory serves me correctly, the Oistrakh/Cluytens Beethoven concerto
first appeared on CD in harness with Oistrakh's distinguished
account of the Bruch
No.1, which has been re-released in EMI's Great
Recordings of the Century series. As it happens, Oistrakh's
Beethoven sits beside another Bruch No.1 on the first disc of
this EMI Triple. Nikolaj Znaider would have been as prolific
a recording artist as Vengerov or Shaham had he come along a little
earlier, before the “major” labels began imploding. His Bruch
No.1 is confident and forthright. He modifies tempo without sounding
willful and pours out Bruch's lovely melodies with ease but without
a trace of routine. He is warmly supported by Foster and an energised
LPO, though the sudden improvement in recorded sound from Oistrakh's
warm but slightly dry analogue to the full Technicolor bloom of
recent digital sound is distinctly noticeable. This recording
comes from Znaider's debut EMI disc, which also featured the Nielsen
concerto. I missed that disc the first time around, but if his
Nielsen is anything like his Bruch, I hope EMI manages to re-release
it.
The third disc in this set is also well worth adding
to your collection. Frank Peter Zimmermann is not the most
flashy soloist, but his sparkling technique and clear tone are
perfectly suited to these two concertos. Zimmermann's playing
in the Sibelius is faultless, his intonation perfect and his
command of the notes breathtaking. He does not dig into the
piece the way, say, Perlman does, but he is no less compelling.
His charming performance of the second of Prokofiev's concertos
is similarly impressive. As excellent as Zimmermann's playing
is, Mariss Jansons and the Philharmonia deserve much of the
credit for the success of these two performances. In both scores,
Jansons draws finely detailed and conversational playing from
the orchestra, and the playing of the winds in the Sibelius
is given welcome prominence.
The second disc is disappointing. Augustin Dumay
is usually a violinist who can be relied upon to deliver performances
of fantasy tempered by taste and refinement. Here, though,
his sense of fantasy is a disfigured beast that runs amok.
Dumay is wayward in the Mendelssohn, pulling tempi around with
abandon and phrasing flagrantly. It is the sort of performance
that will have you shaking your head in disbelief. The Tchaikovsky
receives the sort of performance that will have you reaching
for the eject button. As if the gratuitous point making and
look-at-me antics were not bad enough, Dumay's technique fails
him here too. He pushes tempo and gets out of time with the
orchestra, his tuning is suspect and he fudges more than a few
notes in his rapid runs. The cadenza of the first movement
is a painful experience. The orchestra could never redeem these
performances, but it does not try to either. The LPO plays
with bluster in both recordings but overall sounds uninvolved
and under-rehearsed.
The concertos by Tchaikovsky and Mendelssohn are
– together with the Brahms concerto, which is inexplicably missing
from this set – the quintessential Romantic violin concertos,
and should be the centerpiece of this collection. That being
the case, you would expect that EMI would retrieve top quality
performances of each piece from their back catalogue for this
Triple. For the Mendelssohn, EMI could have selected either
of the excellent Perlman performances on their books – I prefer
the fresher analogue account with Previn and the LSO to the
later digital performance with Haitink and the Concertgebouw
– or a performance by Kennedy, Menuhin, Zimmermann or a number
of others. As for the Tchaikovsky concerto, there's the Kogan
and Silvestri, Perlman and Ormandy, or even the 11 year old
Sarah Chang with Sir Colin Davis – any of these would have
slipped into this collection nicely. Instead EMI has resurrected
a disc that deserved to be deleted.
As noted at the outset, the concertos on this Triple
have been drawn together on the basis that they are all of Romantic
violin concertos. Certainly the Bruch, Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky
concertos are at the core of the Romantic violin repertory.
Whether the Sibelius qualifies is debatable, but its admission
to the club can probably be conceded. It is a stretch to call
the Beethoven concerto “Romantic”, though. It may post-date
the Eroica, but it is certainly classical in its thematic
material and construction. As for the Prokofiev, warm though
it may be, this is neo-classicism rather than romanticism.
Perhaps I am being unnecessarily obsessive about classifications.
However, it would be expected that a collection of Romantic
violin concertos would stick with the central Romantic concerto
repertory. As much as I love it and as much as it is the highlight
of this set, Oistrakh's recording of the Beethoven should have
been replaced here by one of his two recordings of the Brahms
concerto for EMI (on GROC with Klemperer or on Encore with Szell), or either
of Perlman's, or Little's or someone else's. The Prokofiev
should have been ousted for, say, Zimmermann's, Chung's or Perlman's
recording of the Dvořák concerto, or perhaps even Kremer's
recording of the Schumann.
As a set of key Romantic violin concertos, this
set does not really deliver what would be expected. Nonetheless,
EMI has brought together four good performances that are well
worth hearing, and if you don't already have it, Oistrakh's
Beethoven alone is worth the price of this set, Romantic or
not.
Tim Perry
