Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto

[Beef Oven!]

Just listened to this (I bought the CD for Les Noces). I didn't have any strong feelings for or against the performance, but it's one of those irritating recordings where you have the choice of hearing the quiet passages & being blasted out of your socks (& incurring hearing problems) during the loud passages, or surviving the loud passages & only hearing about half the music.

Oh dear, seems even I had a happier experience!

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

All the squids I have come across are usually on the moist side!

Meany.

[Barbirollians]

Just listened to this (I bought the CD for Les Noces). I didn't have any strong feelings for or against the performance, but it's one of those irritating recordings where you have the choice of hearing the quiet passages & being blasted out of your socks (& incurring hearing problems) during the loud passages, or surviving the loud passages & only hearing about half the music.

Sounds grim. I disliked the extracts I heard . - how was the Les Noces ?

[Stanfordian]

Today, I listened to a cd I had high hopes of. Arabella Steinbacher with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra under Charles Dutoit on Pentatone.

It has good things in it but I find the initial tempo really quite slow - almost a practice speed. It's very noticeable that she takes over 20 minutes in the first movement as opposed to, say, Mr. Heifetz who takes about 14' 35"! IMHO, it never really generates much excitement which I can respect but there has to be something else which I feel Steinbacher never really gives us. For me, Dutoit is a real drag since he never uses the first movement Tuttis to perk up the slight feeling of lethargy that has crept in. He doesn't really try to whip up any sense of excitement until the very end of the first movement and skates over Tchaikovsky's imaginative orchestration. The orchestra sound pretty disengaged from the performance too.

The second movement doesn't really vary the mood since there's insufficient variation of tempi from that set in the first movement. The wind are very good but the recording relegates them to second place when the soloist enters. The last movement attempts to inject some interest into the proceedings but, IMHO, all is lost.

4/10 and probably the least interesting of modern performances.

Concerning the timings of the Tchaikovsky concerto Steinbacher is playing Tchaikovsky’s original version, without cuts.

http://www.gramophone.co.uk/feature/inside-tchaikovskys-violin-concerto

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Concerning the timings of the Tchaikovsky concerto Steinbacher is playing Tchaikovsky’s original version, without cuts.

Is this different from the published score, Stanf? The cuts that I understood Alpie and others have been referring to occur in the finale, and account for about a total of only twelve seconds of Music. (These were the "stutters" I referred to when discussing Ralph Holmes' recording.)

[Stanfordian]

Is this different from the published score, Stanf? The cuts that I understood Alpie and others have been referring to occur in the finale, and account for about a total of only twelve seconds of Music. (These were the "stutters" I referred to when discussing Ralph Holmes' recording.)

Hiya ferney,

The two scores would have to be compared but the changes were evidently substantial. I interviewed Steinbacher last month; if I had known I would have asked her.

Some info here: http://www.gramophone.co.uk/feature/...iolin-concerto

If that won't work, try the simple if obvious Google search: 'Tchaikovsky violin concerto, Steinbacher, Gramophone'.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Hiya ferney,
The two scores would have to be compared but the changes were evidently substantial. I interviewed Steinbacher last month; if I had known I would have asked her.
Some info here: http://www.gramophone.co.uk/feature/...iolin-concerto

Thanks, Stanf - I didn't know of any substantial cuts to the work; I think this adds a new aspect to Alpie's question about cuts. And lucky for you, interviewing the soloist!

Sadly, I "do not have permission to access" the page you linked to (my reputation must precede me )

[Stanfordian]

Thanks, Stanf - I didn't know of any substantial cuts to the work; I think this adds a new aspect to Alpie's question about cuts. And lucky for you, interviewing the soloist!

Sadly, I "do not have permission to access" the page you linked to (my reputation must precede me )

Hiya ferney,

Try the simple, if obvious, Google search: 'Tchaikovsky violin concerto, Steinbacher, Gramophone'. To be precise I said substantial changes not necessarily cuts.

[Barbirollians]

In the sleeve notes to the Menuhin/Fricsay recording it says that there were substantial cuts in the Auer version that Menuhin played . I assume that is what is being referred to ?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Sadly, I "do not have permission to access" the page you linked to (my reputation must precede me )

If it makes you feel any better, the same has just happened to me, though earlier, when I clicked on the link on my phone, it worked. Very strange.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Hiya ferney,
Tchaikovsky violin concerto, Steinbacher, Gramophone'.

<doh>

Reading the article, with its reference to Steinbacher using "Tchaikovsky’s original version, without cuts, in the David Oistrakh edition", it does suggest that these "cuts" are just the traditional "stutters" in the Finale. The video of the performance also suggests this - the performance is a little on the slow side, emphasizing the lyrical side of the work. I didn't mind this too much, but prefer those which choose a quicker tempo to allow the more dramatic aspects to fizz and spark.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

If it makes you feel any better, the same has just happened to me, though earlier, when I clicked on the link on my phone, it worked. Very strange.

See if this works for you:

http://www.gramophone.co.uk/feature/inside-tchaikovskys-violin-concerto

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

See if this works for you:

http://www.gramophone.co.uk/feature/...iolin-concerto

[Barbirollians]

Just been enjoying Ida Haendel's radio recording from 1960 with the Stuttgart RSO and Hans Muller Kray on Hanssler Classics . A joy of a performance .

[pastoralguy]

There are recordings with extreme cuts which I'll mention when I have time. In the first movement, it's usually the two big Tuttis between the introduction and the cadenza that are affected. It does make for some very odd key changes!

The finale also has recordings where the music is butchered, presumably to fit onto 78rpm sides.

The 'cuts' in my solo part (PETERS edition) has brackets and asterisks around the 'stutters' with a note auf Deutsche saying they can be omitted as required. But it's only a few seconds of music and isn't really enough to substantially change timings.

The Menuhin/Fricsay is on my pile of Tchaikovsky violin concertos to be listened to. I'm also keen to hear the unreleased Menuhin/Boult recording but Mrs. PG has sent the box set to Santa so I'm going to keep my curiosity under wraps until Christmas Day!