Beethoven: Violin Concerto / Mozart: Sinfonia Concertante

Recorded live at London's Royal Albert Hall in 1963, this disc brings together three superb artists for two extraordinary performances. In Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante, with Menuhin conducting, Igor Oistrakh on violin sounds bright and radiant, his father, David, on viola dark and warm; with great charm, brilliance, and obvious mutual enjoyment, they play to and off each other in questioning, diverging phrases that come together in triumphant, ecstatic affirmation. Weaving a tapestry of transparent lines, they bring out Mozart's mercurial moods from devil-may-care exuberance and soaring lyricism to despairing lamentation. With David Oistrakh conducting, Menuhin plays the Beethoven concerto. Though he no longer had complete mastery of fingers and bow, the buoyancy of his rhythm, the incandescent intensity of his tone, and his deeply personal expressiveness were undiminished. The second movement is simply heavenly: very slow, calm, serene, inward, with a floating, disembodied air, absolutely perfect in tone, tempo, mood, it finally fades into the distance like a dream. His 1947 recording with the Luzern Festival Orchestra under Wilhelm Furtwängler (Testament STB 1109) offers a fascinating comparison. Here, his technique is impeccable, smooth, effortless, and, except for the truly incomparable slow movement of 1963, his playing is no less beautiful in tone and moving in expression. As was customary at the time but is rare today, Furtwängler constantly changes tempo along with character and dynamics; however, he was famous for his ability to make such liberties sound entirely natural and organic. --Edith Eisler