Customer Reviews

Beethoven: Violin Concerto / Romances for Violin & Orchestra

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
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In this 1992 recording of the Beethoven Violini Concerto, the entire tone and pace is set by Giulini. Fmaously a condcutor of spirituality and feeling, the later Giulini was also slow and much less incined toward drama. Salvatore Accardo goes along obediently; this is the least flashy of solo renditions.

Everything is molded toward Beethoven's orchestral part; in essence this is a noble symphony with violin obliggato. If you'd like to hear such an approach, which is certainly unusual, rest assured that Sony's 20-bit recording is clear and natural, the La Scala Philharmonic plays well (they are about the size of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, I would guess), and Accardo's tone, relaxed rather than intense, is well blended into the whole proceedings. I can't get too excited about this CD, but it is musical and lovely on its own terms.

Carlo Maria Giulini recorded this concerto twice. The first one was with Itzhak Perlman. I think Giulini and Accardo had a real meeting of minds about the concerto. Tempos are somewhat slow, but not extremely so. The orchestra plays with the beautiful, luminous tone that was typical of Giulini at his best. You just have to hear the wonderful blend of the wind choirs to know that you are in the presence of a special conductor. Accardo's interpretation is relaxed. Sometimes I feel that it is less concentrated than it could be, perhaps because the conductor rather than the soloist seems to be calling the shots. The last movement, however, is unreservedly excellent. This would not be my first recommendation for a recording of the concerto, but I would recommend it to fans of the conductor or the soloist. The Rhapsodies go very well, and the sound engineering is excellent.

Accardo is in excellent form here and is accompanied well by one of the best conductors of our time, Carlo Maria Giulini. A great combination that lives up to their reputations

Accardo clearly demonstrates that he is one of the finest violinists of our time and that he can play more than Paganini.