This is a highly enjoyable
disc containing expert transfers of
historical recordings made in the early
1950s. The transfers have been made
not from the original tapes, but from
long-playing records. The Mendelssohn
D minor Violin Concerto for soloist
and strings was not rediscovered until
1951. It had been bought from an antiquarian
by Menuhin himself who also edited the
manuscript and had it published, giving
the first performance in New York on
4th February 1952. The present recording
was made two days later with the same
string players. Although written when
Mendelssohn was only 13 years old it
is an endearing piece, which obviously
appealed enormously to Menuhin, who,
like Mendelssohn, had been a child prodigy.
In his early works, Mendelssohn’s string
writing was greatly influenced by Bach
and his offspring, especially C.P.E.
Bach. Although this is an early LP recording,
the aural dimension is excellent with
great clarity of string sound. Menuhin
plays the solo part with real feeling
and insight. I particularly liked the
warmth and candour of the second movement
Andante.
True to the original
1952 issue, this Naxos disc also includes
the much better-known Violin Concerto
in E minor. This recording was made
in Berlin with the Berlin Philharmonic
Orchestra under their erstwhile chief
conductor Furtwängler. It is pertinent
to remember that Furtwängler remained
loyal to the Nazi regime from the rise
of Hitler in the 1930s and throughout
the Second World War. There was thus
a much needed period of rehabilitation
following the war which eventually allowed
his return to the international musical
stage. Menuhin, himself a Jew, did much
to help Furtwängler re-establish
himself and it is rather poignant that
this recording should be of Mendelssohn.
Given that the Jewish composer had been
vilified by the Nazi regime to the extent
that his music was banned and his statue
had been removed from the square in
Leipzig opposite the Gewandhaus. The
violin-playing in this recording is
exemplary but I found that the orchestral
accompaniment was heavy and lugubrious.
This is not helped by the rather heavy
string sound which tends to weigh the
work down to a certain extent, especially
during the outer movements.
The last work on this
disc is the Bruch Violin Concerto No.
1 and is the third recording that Menuhin
made of the piece. Interestingly Elgar
used his first recording of the Bruch,
made at the age of 15 in 1931, to evaluate
Menuhin's expertise as a violinist in
preparation for their historic recording
of Elgar's own Violin Concerto in 1932.
The recording on this disc was made
in 1951 in Boston and is the only recording
that Menuhin made with Charles Munch
and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Despite
the fact that the recording is only
a year older than the other two on this
disc, the sound is notably inferior
- particularly that of the orchestra,
which sounds constricted, distant and
has a boxy acoustic. The violin solo
is very prominent and, not surprisingly,
most beautifully played by Menuhin,
a great exponent of the work. The second
movement is just ravishing! My only
criticism is that the last movement
is played at a somewhat measured tread,
not really the energico specified
by the composer.
There are countless
couplings of the Mendelssohn and Bruch
Violin concertos in the catalogues and
it would be impossible for me to recommend
a best buy. This disc cannot compete
with – or replace - modern recordings,
but rather gives us an insight into
the early recordings of possibly the
greatest violinist of the mid-20th century.
The skilful and silent transfers, despite
some shortcomings in orchestral sound,
are impeccable and allow us to evaluate
Menuhin’s greatness without having the
swishes and clicks which bedevil some
historic pre-LP transfers. The inclusion
of the early Concerto in D minor is
a useful and fascinating bonus. A must-have
for Menuhin enthusiasts!
Em Marshall
see also review
by Jonathan Woolf
Yehudi Menuhin (violin) 
