Boris Belkin was hailed
as a wonderful violinist after he won
the 1976 Tchaikovsky Competition. He
was quickly snapped up under contract
to Decca. He then recorded a few discs,
notable among these being the Brahms
Concerto with Fischer and the LSO, the
Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich No. 1,
and the pair of Prokofiev concertos.
Apart from the Brahms, Tchaikovsky and
Strauss, it has been left to Australian
Eloquence to promote these very fine
concerto readings.
The booklet includes
a photograph of the soloist which shows
a more mature artist than the other
discs, which show a youngster, presumably
as he was when he won the competition.
Based upon the recording dates the current
photograph is probably relevant to the
Strauss recording, being as it is some
sixteen years newer than the other two.
The Paganini No. 1
comes into direct comparison with performances
by Accardo, Grumiaux, Gringolts, Perlman,
Shaham and Vengerov, although none have
similar couplings. In a concerto such
as this a secure technique is an absolute
must and all of these seven discs are
difficult to fault in this respect.
Belkin’s also is easily in this class
and there are no shortcomings in his
playing of this virtuoso concerto. Paganini,
while he puts a virtuoso strain on the
soloist, does not stretch him in the
interpretative area. So as long as the
concerto is effectively played, one
can live with the result. What we have
here is Mehta’s accustomed bold as brass
accompaniment typical of the style of
role he adopts for most of his concerto
readings. Together with the IPO they
make a good pairing and this can be
recommended.
The Strauss Concerto,
digitally recorded in 1993 in Berlin
with Ashkenazy is another matter. It
was written by Strauss when he was only
25, although the concerto had been written
seven years earlier as a violin/piano
combination. It was dedicated to Benno
Walter who was both leader of the Royal
Bavarian Orchestra and Strauss’s cousin.
In the orchestral premiere, Strauss
conducted and the critic Karl Klindworth
was sufficiently impressed to wish that
Strauss’s new work would replace the
Bruch G Minor Concerto. After listening
to the concerto not only do I concur
with public opinion but also I cannot
for the life of me understand how such
a crass statement could have been be
made about a new work. I had better
watch my words in case I become guilty
of similar statements.
When we reach the Tchaikovsky
Scherzo, we have a definite miniature
in both style and length but how much
better constructed and laid out than
the other two works on this disc. The
Valse-Scherzo although like the Strauss,
written both as a violin/piano combination
and later for violin and orchestra,
is of a completely different calibre.
A master is at work here, and Ashkenazy
offers distinguished accompaniment to
his soloist. Decca has captured the
performance very musically. There are
no hi-fi fireworks here, but neither
are there any in the work itself - so
another success
The playing of all
three works is exemplary. At Australian
Eloquence prices (about £3.75 per disc
plus postage) this makes superb value.
Good notes plus tasteful covers and
without the sonic alterations present
on the European Eloquence discs.
Very highly recommended.
John Phillips
Boris Belkin (violin) 
