David Oistrakh plays Russian Violin Concertos - The Russian
Archives
Dmitri SHOSTAKOVICH (1906-1975)
Violin Concerto No.1 in A minor, Op.99 [36:29]
Violin Concerto No.2 in C sharp minor, Op.129 [28:13]
Dmitri KABALEVSKY (1904-1987)
Violin Concerto in C, Op.48 [15:48]
Sergei TANEYEV (1856-1915)
Concert Suite Op.28 for violin and orchestra [40:50]
Sergei PROKOFIEV (1891-1953)
Violin Concerto No.1 in D, Op.19 [20:03]
Pyotr Ilyich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)
Violin Concerto in D, Op.35 [33:27]
rec.Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra/Yevgeni Mravinsky (Shostakovich 1)
Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra/Gennadi Rozhdestvensky (Shostakovich 2, Tchaikovsky)
Kyrill Kondrashin (Prokofiev)
State Symphony Orchestra of USSR/Carl Eliasberg (Kabalevsky) Kurt Sanderling
(Taneyev)
rec. 18 November 1956 (Shostakovich Concerto no.1); 27 September, 1968 (Shostakovich
Concerto no.2); 12 May 1949 (Kabalevsky); 20 September 1960 (Taneyev); 7 September
1963 (Prokofiev); 27 September 1968 (Tchaikovsky). Venues not listed.
BRILLIANT CLASSICS 9239 [3 CDs: 64:46 + 57:47 + 54:38]
Since the demise of the USSR there have been a number of series that implied
they were presenting newly rediscovered treasures that had been secreted away
in some vault or other. I remember one that was genuinely considered as such
which emerged in the final years of the USSR. Marketing ploy or not
the proof of the musical pudding is in the listening and this 3 CD set is
a wonderful example of the art of one of the greatest violinists of the twentieth
century.
David Oistrakh was born in Odessa in 1908, and it was his stepfather’s name
he took (his original was Kolker) and who was an amateur violinist himself.
Oistrakh’s mother was a singer at the state Opera House and she often took
the young David there as a treat. I like to imagine my father may have
been there at the same time as he was born five years earlier and his aunt
took him to the same opera house once before the family left for England -
I’m an old romantic!
Whoever it was who cleaned up and digitally re-mastered these recordings deserves
considerable credit as they sound incredibly fresh and I kept having to check
that I’d read it correctly: that the first offering, Shostakovich’s first
violin concerto was really recorded as long ago as 1956. Oistrakh premiered
both his violin concertos and this recording was made only a year after its
premiere. Oistrakh was, as Dr David Doughty writes in the notes, renowned
for his sweetness of tone. This is in evidence in abundance in this first
concerto especially in the passacaglia in the third movement as the music
soars upwards in the register. As Doughty also notes the concerto contains
some of the “finest music for violin of the 20th century”. It grows
in my appreciation every time I hear it. When I reviewed Daniel Hope’s
recording I said I felt it was a serious contender for benchmark status but
ended the review by saying I could not be categorical about which version
I most preferred or what should be considered the yardstick by which others
should be judged. However, hearing this recording I am prepared to nail
my opinions to the musical mast and say this should be considered the benchmark.
If Shostakovich had been a violinist he couldn’t have played it better or
with more understanding of its nature and content. It makes you want to play
again and again. The Second Concerto is equally well played, as you’d
expect by its dedicatee who received it as a 60th birthday present - one year
early due to Shostakovich being mistaken about Oistrakh’s year of birth.
I know some prefer the second to the first but I’m not one of them despite
loving it too. Please see my review
of the Daniel Hope version to read comments about the music itself. The playing
again cannot be faulted, though I think the Leningrad Phil served Oistrakh
better than the Moscow Phil did.
The second CD presents the Kabalevsky concerto and the concert suite by Taneyev.
I’m not sure I’d ever heard either so I listened with great interest.
The Kabalevsky was written at the same time (1948) as Shostakovich’s first
but what a different stable it emerged from! It is firmly rooted in
the 19th century tradition whilst Shostakovich’s was most definitely a twentieth
century work. This is not meant to be any kind of criticism as Kabalevsky’s
music is extremely attractive and Oistrakh is completely at home with the
sweet nature of the tones and colouring. The recording comes through beautifully
and, remarkably, dates from 1949! I’ve heard plenty of discs that date
from years later that sounded dated - a recently reviewed disc of Cziffra
is a case in point - whereas this sounds amazingly fresh and serves the music
and Oistrakh well; much better I’ll wager, than when it was first released.
Taneyev who died the same year as Scriabin, one of his pupils and whose funeral
he attended at which he contracted the pneumonia which killed him, is
less well known than most of his contemporaries. This is a shame as he wrote
a lot of highly attractive works. He studied composition in Tchaikovsky’s
class at the Moscow Conservatory and piano with the conservatory’s founder
Nicolai Rubinstein. He was a highly accomplished pianist who, at the age of
19, gave the premiere of Tchaikovsky’s first piano concerto and impressed
Tchaikovsky so much he asked him to give the premiere of his second. Finally
it was Taneyev who completed and premiered Tchaikovsky’s third piano concerto
and Andante and Finale. Taneyev was also a teacher whose pupils included,
as well as Scriabin, Sergei Rachmaninov, Reinhold Glière, Julius Conus and
Nicolai Medtner. Though he was not renowned as an original creative composer
he was an extremely scrupulous and thorough craftsman. Tchaikovsky regarded
him as one of the few people whose opinion he valued - though he also feared
it. The Concert Suite included here is a typical work of the period
but is quite a long piece at over 40 minutes. There are five movements that
are full of beautiful melodies. Again the playing of Oistrakh brings out every
nuance and serves the music in the best possible way. In fact it is a perfect
vehicle for displaying Oistrakh’s well documented sweetness of tone which
is brought out to the full here.
CD3 brings us to Prokofiev’s First Violin Concerto and that of Tchaikovsky.
The Prokofiev dates from 1914 when the composer was just 23. It embodies youthful
experimentation and sparkles with brilliance. In the expert hands of Oistrakh,
it fizzes along in the most delightful way, especially when it comes to the
fast and furious central scherzo. This really tests the soloist not that it
is any problem for this great player. It must have seemed extremely
avant-garde for 1914. I imagine it drew some barbed comments from some quarters
at the time – no matter as it has found its justifiable place in the repertoire
of all of the world’s violinists since then. Finally we come to one
of the best known of all violin concertos, the Tchaikovsky and a particular
favourite of Oistrakh whose recording on this set is the latest of all. It
was performed for his sixtieth birthday concert on 27 September, 1968.
As before Oistrakh’s wonderfully sweet, clear tone emphasises the brilliance
of the writing. The experience is a wonderful testament to both composer and
performer.
Considering almost all these recordings were made at live concerts the level
of audience interruption is minimal. As stated before, the quality of sound
is quite remarkable for the age of the recordings, the latest over 40 years
old and the oldest over 60. It is an extremely attractive package and
at Brilliant Classics’ brilliant budget price it is a no-brainer as to acquisition.
If you don’t have these recordings and you admire the exceptional talent of
one of music history’s greatest ever violinists nothing should stop you ordering
it forthwith!
Steve Arloff
It is an extremely attractive package and at Brilliant Classics brilliant
budget price it is a no-brainer as to acquisition. l