RECORDING OF THE MONTH     CHOPIN Waltzes and Impromptus Vladimir Feltsman £11 post free World-wide VIVALDI The four seasons London Mozart Players/Juritz £12 post free World-wide BEETHOVEN Symphonies 4 and 5 LSO/Yondani Butt £12 post free World-wide

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Sergei PROKOFIEV (1891-1953) Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major, Op. 19 (1916-1917) [20:43] Violin Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 63 (1935) [27:34] Violin Sonata No. 2 in D major, Op. 94 bis (arr. David Oistrakh) [23:26] David Oistrakh (violin) London Symphony Orchestra/Lovro von Matacic London Philharmonic Orchestra/Alceo Galliera (2) Vladimir Yampolsky (piano) Rec. London, England, November 1954, mono (1); 14-19 May 1958, stereo (2); Colonaille Hall, Brussels, Belgium 22-25 May 1955. ADD EMI CLASSICS GREAT RECORDINGS OF THE CENTURY 5628882 [72:53]

Three Oistrakh Prokofiev recordings from the 1950s all in excellent fettle.   This version of the fairy-tale First Violin Concerto of Prokofiev is a considerable improvement on Oistrakh’s later Soviet one with Kondrashin and the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra. There his tone and that of the orchestra is compromised by a tart and vinegary nasal quality. In this case the monophonic recording sounds very healthy despite the 52 intervening years. As for the performance of this glorious, gaudy, splendid and glimmering saga of a piece it is stunning. The LSO provide a backdrop full of intriguing character – and there’s a lot going on too. Oistrakh romps through the piece with marvellous silvery precision and exacting virtuosity. Matacic is a pliant and spontaneous-sounding partner – comparable with Pierre Monteux in his lightning-rod attention to detailing. He takes care of his soloist yet snatches opportunities to colour and pace amid Prokofiev’s brittle and crystal. Once again I note how the finale shows up Walton’s debt in his own Violin Concerto. This GROC resurrects a modern sounding recording to place alongside the Beecham-conducted Szigeti which you can hear on Naxos (see review). For a yet more modern sounding Prokofiev 1, I still recommend Sitkovetsky on Virgin (see review). There’s a change of orchestra and conductor for the stereo recording of the Second Concerto. This is a much more sober work yet with echoes of the Romeo and Juliet ballet music and serenely of Bach in the middle movement. The recording is stunning – listen to those cavernous pizzicati towards the end of the Andante assai not to mention the castanets in the finale.   The Violin Sonata No. 2 began life as a Flute Sonata which was transcribed by the composer at Oistrakh’s request. It was a product of the composer’s wartime retreat to Perm in the Urals.  It’s a serene and untroubled work; not at all macabre or fantastic unlike the First Concerto.   The notes are by David Gutman and emphasise the story of the music rather than its recording history.   Precisely etched and joyously breathtaking Prokofiev playing.   Rob Barnett   EMI Great Recordings of the Century       Advertising Rates Visitor stats MusicWeb International has over 40,000 Classical CD reviews on offer Discs received Having a problem Donating? Gerard Hoffnung Concerts & The Bricklayer Story   New Releases New Releases   MusicWeb sells the Polish catalogue CDAccord £10.50 post free W-W MusicWeb sells the Arcodiva catalogue £12.00 post free W-W £11.75 post-free world- wide MusicWeb can now offer you discs from the following catalogues: Prices include postage [Acte Préalable £13.50] [Arcodiva £12.00] [Avie from £6.25] [British Music Society £12.00] [CDACCORD from £13.50 ] [ClassicO £12.50] [Hallé from £11] [Heritage £10] [Hortus £14.99 ] [Lyrita ONLY £11.75 ] [Nimbus Special prices] [Northern Flowers £13.50] [REDCLIFFE £11 ] [Sheva £11] [Tactus £11.50 ] [Talent from £12.00 ] [Toccata Classics £10.50 ] Musicweb Special Offers Monthly Best Buys     Google Ads - for information about privacy matters, click here.  Amazon Musicweb International is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com

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