Customer Reviews

Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto / Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This Sony "Great Performances" title marks the reissue of two of violinist Zino Francescatti's best stereo Concerto recordings -- the Mendelssohn with George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra and the Tchaikovsky with Thomas Schippers and the New York Philharmonic. These performances were previously available on separate CDs in the "Take 2 - Sony Essential Classics" series (see my review of the Mendelssohn title), but both are now out-of-print. The highlight here is the 1961 Mendelssohn, one of my favorite recordings of the work along with accounts by Menuhin and Heifetz. On the other hand, the 1965 Tchaikovsky features good playing from Francescatti (though I prefer his mono account with Mitropoulos on the now OOP Sony "Masterworks Heritage" two-disc set), but with only adequate support from Schippers, who has never wowed me other than with his Barber (see my review of his recently reissued "Alexander Nevsky/Pictures at an Exhibition" GP title). Overall, these golden age recordings are a delight to have available again with improved sound, but I'm still disappointed that Sony has deleted its entire budget line just to reissue a few remastered gems at mid-price.

The other reviewers fail to give this recording the credit it deserves. It was one of my favorites 35 years ago, and when I saw it available here I was delighted, but upon reading the other reviewers, I wondered if perhaps I had been mistaken all those years ago. I was not. Francescatti was one of the four or five best violinists of the 20th century, and he simply plays the first movement of the Tchaikovsky better than anyone else. It is simply breathtaking -- an astouding adventure. Francescatti's playing both precise and passionate. Definitely superior to Heifitz, who often slurs passages. That's not passion; it's sloppiness. The sound quality of this recording is surprisingly excellent -- very vivid and alive.

Zino Francescatti meant for violin what Casadesus for the piano, and that's why their successful musical joining would not be regarded such as mere coincidence. A meaningful colorist, gifted of a very distinguished phrasing and eloquent expressiveness.

This violin's gentleman gave for the posterity genuine musical gems hovered of warm lyricism, refined musicality without losing tonal opulence.

His performance of Saint Saens' Third violin concerto has no paragon. His Mendelssohn version still remains among the top five through the history of the musical interpretation. I would cite the another four. Szigetti- Beecham , Stern-Ormandy, Heifetz and Menuhin.

The Tchaikovsky violin concerto, to be honest has three unsurmountable high peaks: Kogan, Heifetz and Gitlis.

I got addicted to this recording in the Army when my roommate began playing his LP copy. It, like a number of other recordings, stuck with me and I bought the same pieces recorded by others several times over the years until this re-release became available. I'm not saying that I really know anything about serious musicians, but Zino Francescatti plays his heart out on this, while everyone else in the other recordings seems to be lost somewhere else. Even to a non-expert, it becomes clear that there are just times, places, and people that, when combined properly, yield music that gets the hairs up on your arms, again and again. This is one of those.

I concur with the other reviewers --- what one gets here is a pretty no-nonsense, no-frills interpretation. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, and I find that a straightforward approach doesn't necessarily have to equate with the sometimes robotic stiffness one can find in Heifetz. Francescatti has a cleaner, lighter tone --- more lyrical than I think Heifetz ever managed.

The sound quality is good --- no complaints on that end. The biggest liability would have to be the rather unruly & sometimes downright undisciplined playing of the New York Philharmonic under Thomas Schippers, although this should probably be considered par for the course.

The Santa Fe no doubt is correct --- this will appeal mostly to Francescatti devotees. One can only hope that it might serve to reintroduce a younger generation of listeners to Francescatti's playing. Overall, it is a good, well-presented, affordable CD. One could do much much worse.

The now overlooked Zino Frnacescatti was a staple on the Coumbia label in the Fifties and Sixties, his style being in the Heifetz mold--brisk, no-nonsens, with little sense of personal expression. This nicely refurbished CD birngs him back in style. Szell provides like-minded support for a fleet, cool Mendelssohn concerto that feels, to me at least, very short on expressive phrasing and devoid of personal ideas. It's efficient and well played, however. In the four decades since it was recorded in 1961 we've had scads of better recordings from Perlman, Shaham, Vengerov, Hahn, Bell, and many more.

Heifetz hasn't been surpassed in his amazingly virtuosic Thcaikovsky concerto recording under Reiner, and if you exclude romantic passion the way he does, you'd better possess world-class technique. Francescatti doesn't, but gratefully he eschews the kind of gushy, cloying reading that this piece is prone to. His efficiency is welcome here, and Schippers seems on track with his clipped accompaniment. Of coursse, taking the Russian passion out of Tchaikovsky is a bit perverse, and we've had wonderful readings since 1965 from Vengerov and Mullova that capture the Slavic spirit of the concerto perfectly. In all, this entire CD will appeal mostly to nostalgists and fans of Francescatti. I wonder how many are left?