The
Prokofiev alone is sufficient reason to get this CD. It is the
version by which I 'learnt' the work - a tape of a BBC broadcast
not the HMV Treasury LP. Sitkovetsky and Oistrakh have come
closest to capturing its starry, barbaric, fairy tale bardic delights
- murderous, seductive and fantastic. Otherwise Szigeti and Beecham
reign supreme. For me this work and this version
evoke the ‘Baba Yaga’ legend with a goose-pimple fidelity intensifying
the eldritch mood of the Liadov tone poem. As a counterpart among
the world of illustrators you should think in terms of Kay Nielsen
rather than Dulac or Virgil Finlay. Cousins under the skin are
Sibelius's Pohjola's Daughter, Balakirev's Thamar,
Stravinsky’s Firebird and Szymanowski's Violin Concerto
No. 1. Mark Obert-Thorn makes the recording sound better than
the others even though they were recorded four and eleven years
later. He has done a wonderful job again.
A
light cobweb of surface noise can be heard in the Bartók
which was originally written for the Swiss violinist Steffi Geyer
for whom Othmar Schoeck, similarly smitten in love, wrote a violin
concerto. Chastely sustained, light-as-down playing from Szigeti
catches the air of fragile invocation - part Berg concerto and
part imploring hymn. Wonderfully restrained and concentrated playing
from the Philharmonia. Tully Potter in his typically rewarding
notes tells us that this recording was intended to be part of
a Bartók Edition that never got off the ground. Lastly
comes the Bloch work. This was its world premiere recording and
Szigeti had given the first performance. As a piece of music it
lacks themes with a strong profile. I grew up on the EMI Menuhin
version but he was unable to help the piece and I am afraid that
for all its intriguing incidents this source version remains interesting
and fitfully impressive. It lacks the 'wow' factor.
One
small point. The dates given for Bloch are incorrect. They have
been copied from the Bartók entry but unfortunately the
preparer of the track listing failed to get to correct them. Small
stuff. Correct dates given above.
Rob
Barnett
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Joseph Szigeti (violin) 
