Because Munch was
largely associated with French repertoire
we tend to forget that he also excelled
in German music.
In both the Beethoven
and Mendelssohn Violin Concertos Heifetz’s
razor-sharp, silvery tone often grates
on the ears and nerves, giving an unpleasant
sensation of shrillness. It is scrappy,
resinous and sour. It is this strange
mixture of silvery sweetness and acidic
astringency that gives Heifetz his unique
‘signature’ in the recording studio.
Apparently in live performances Heifetz’s
tone came across less sour and more
sweet and pure. While this sweetness
reaches out supremely well in his great
recording of the Sibelius Violin Concerto,
it does not work in the Beethoven and
Mendelssohn concertos.
Similar to his powerfully
direct conducting of Beethoven’s Piano
Concerto No. 1 (with Richter and the
Boston Symphony Orchestra - also
on RCA), Munch conducts with great
verve and thrust. His direction of the
concerto has an urgency and toughness
reminiscent of Toscanini.
Munch pushed the first
movement of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto
at a relentless pace forcing Heifetz
to play at full throttle with the rushed
passages sounding rather rough and ready.
Yet there was something refreshingly
alive and spontaneous about this wild
playing which eschewed the sterility
of refinement. The slow movement is
very disappointing with Heifetz’s scrawny
tone taking on a measure of schmaltz:
here there was no variation in mood
or expression. Again Munch had inspired
the BSO to play with great expressive
warmth. Heifetz was at his best in the
last movement where his rugged gypsy
style paid dividends. Here he plays
with great elasticity and agility producing
a darting lilting grace but again however
his tone still sounds rather scrawny
and mean.
In the first and last
movements of Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin
Concerto in E minor Op. 64 Heifetz comes
across as even more shrill and rugged
than in the Beethoven. His tone is sour
and his playing unrefined as if it were
just a quick run-through. It could be
the close miking that gives Heifetz’s
tone its bite and acidity. His best
playing is in the slow central movement
which is sensitive and lyrical even
if it seems to lack the essential emotion.
What makes this a worthy performance
is the magnificent conducting of Charles
Munch and the superlative playing of
the Boston Symphony Orchestra and for
me this is the selling point of this
Super Audio CD. However, for Heifetz
converts these interpretations remain
paradigms. The superb recording captures
the full-bodied warmth of the Boston
Symphony Orchestra but unfortunately
Heifetz’s tone comes across as too closely
miked sounding at times congested and
brittle.
Alex Russell
Jascha Heifetz (violin) 
