BaL 12.1.19 - Prokofiev: Violin concerto 1 in D

[Maclintick]

My Frang CD is yet to arrive: will I find it as warm and sweet as frangipane, or something a tad frigid?

Not frigid - at least applied to Vilde's part in the proceedings. She runs the full expressive gamut IMHO, lyrical, playful in moments of levity & grotesquerie, & digging in trenchantly where the score demands, but with no ugly scraping. The F-adjective may, however, apply to Thomas Søndergård's conducting of a dismally routine accompaniment by the WDR SO. Try the section in the first movement where the soloist's demented pizzicati should be partnered by whirling-dervish-like whole-tone figures in the woodwind, & where the WDR section sound as though they're considering whether to get out of bed. Plodding & dull. Orchestral sound is a tad unfocussed in comparison to alternatives, & I suspect there's an edit when the soloist enters after the bassoon's introduction in the finale, where the tempo audibly slackens, as though the fagottista was patched from a different performance.

By contrast, FPZ'z Berliners are super-committed to the extent of making the soloist sound too objective -- though I very much admire his clean playing & the integrity and consistency he brings to the job. FPZ & Frang are refreshing to those allergic to Oistrakh & Stern, but I wouldn't willingly part with them, & KWC, of course.

[richardfinegold]

I saw Oistrach play this in the RFH in November 1972, with Philharmonia/Svetlanov. An encore was called for, Oistrach held up two fingers to conductor and orchestra and they played the 2nd movement again.

I have one recording only, the Mordkovitch/Järvi.

In response to this thread I pulled an EMI Oistrakh collection off the shelf that has him in an early 50s mono recording . I’ve never heard the solo part played with so much fire and panache. Regrettably the Orchestra sounds like it’s in a different studio...

[BBMmk2]

In response to this thread I pulled an EMI Oistrakh collection off the shelf that has him in an early 50s mono recording . I’ve never heard the solo part played with so much fire and panache. Regrettably the Orchestra sounds like it’s in a different studio...

I used to have the box set of 20th Century Violin Concertos that Igor Oistrskh was involved in. A marvellous set that indeed.

[Master Jacques]

To me, but not it seems to those at W1A, what we really need is a return of Interpretations on record.
To supplement/complement BaL, of course, not replace it.

How right you are, Pulcinella! The matter of performance and recording styles, and the way they change down the decades, is the elephant in the room for many BaL reviewers - this Prokofiev 1st VC being a good case in point. An open-ended analysis would really tell us much more about the work than did this rather frustrating talent contest which busily compared chalk with cheese.

To be blunt, it seems that a handful of reviewers are finding it difficult to really "hear" any record more than a decade or so old, especially one made in the days when recording was considered an art form for the smallish room with smallish speakers, or through headphones, rather than a matter of making the sound as much like "being in the hall" for ideal setups in palatial spaces. Given the fact that few listeners hear music in such optimal conditions, this seems an odd criterion on which to rely.

I must say, having now heard the Frang/Søndergård recording, I find myself seriously disappointed. I second Maclintick's strong reservations about the poor orchestral contribution as well as his pleasure in the soloist's work. Trying to find a reason for the reviewer's indulgence of this CD's orchestral and conducting shortcomings, I can only come back to the feeling that a lack of sympathy for the virtues of older playing and recording styles led KM to dismiss such "classic" versions as Previn/KWC, without trying hard enough to hear with what they were aiming for - and achieving - both as to performance and recording.

[edashtav]

Not frigid - at least applied to Vilde's part in the proceedings. She runs the full expressive gamut IMHO, lyrical, playful in moments of levity & grotesquerie, & digging in trenchantly where the score demands, but with no ugly scraping. The F-adjective may, however, apply to Thomas Søndergård's conducting of a dismally routine accompaniment by the WDR SO. Try the section in the first movement where the soloist's demented pizzicati should be partnered by whirling-dervish-like whole-tone figures in the woodwind, & where the WDR section sound as though they're considering whether to get out of bed. Plodding & dull. Orchestral sound is a tad unfocussed in comparison to alternatives, & I suspect there's an edit when the soloist enters after the bassoon's introduction in the finale, where the tempo audibly slackens, as though the fagottista was patched from a different performance.

By contrast, FPZ'z Berliners are super-committed to the extent of making the soloist sound too objective -- though I very much admire his clean playing & the integrity and consistency he brings to the job. FPZ & Frang are refreshing to those allergic to Oistrakh & Stern, but I wouldn't willingly part with them, & KWC, of course.

Thanks for your guidance and warnings, Maclintick, my Frang is due to arrive today. I've "toned up" with muscular David Oistrakh and his orchestra in a box.

[edashtav]

How right you are: Pulcinella and Master Jacques, I, too, yearn for that Land of Lost Content: Interpretations on Record.

[DoctorT]

I've been enjoying lisa batiashvili's recording with the COE and Yannick Nézet-Séguin, which I don't think got a mention although it has been well reviewed elsewhere. Has anyone else listened to it?

[Maclintick]

I've been enjoying lisa batiashvili's recording with the COE and Yannick Nézet-Séguin, which I don't think got a mention although it has been well reviewed elsewhere. Has anyone else listened to it?

No, thanks for the heads-up.Lisa Batiashvili is an artist for whom I've the greatest regard, so I'll definitely investigate.

[edashtav]

No, thanks for the heads-up.Lisa Batiashvili is an artist for whom I've the greatest regard, so I'll definitely investigate.

My Frang has arrived. First reaction: surely it's largely based on a Radio Studio broadcast performances with later 'patching'? I've fallen in love with Frang's fragrant but emotionally restrained performance. I share some boarders reservations about aspects of the orchestra's contributions. However, thanks to the violinist's interpretation, I've noticed a quotation from SP's contemporaneous Classical Symphony in the fast movement and some subtle suggestions of it in the finale. The final bars are prosaic and 'thrown away' in a manner I find unacceptable.

More detail later: at the moment, my faith in KM's judgement is wobbling. I cannot believe that it deserves first past the post recognition. I may have to investigate further suggestions from elsewhere in this lively & helpful thread.

[Barbirollians]

Yes I was surprised to be honest that it won but it is a record I would not want to be without and it is a feasible first choice - I find VF's playing utterly enchanting.

I would , like many others it seems , have chose KWC/Previn for my BAL winner but Frang would have been a runner up.

[visualnickmos]

No, thanks for the heads-up.Lisa Batiashvili is an artist for whom I've the greatest regard, so I'll definitely investigate.

You won't be disappointed; she is well-in command here, and that is meant as a compliment. Yannick Nézet-Séguin allows her full rein, and she accepts. Fabulous sound, too....

[HighlandDougie]

You won't be disappointed; she is well-in command here, and that is meant as a compliment. Yannick Nézet-Séguin allows her full rein, and she accepts. Fabulous sound, too....

Totally agree. I was ever so slightly surprised that she didn’t merit a mention by the (in my unhumble view) irritating KM (the distaff Tom Service or maybe it should be vice versa). Whatever, well worth exploring.

[edashtav]

Totally agree. I was ever so slightly surprised that she didn’t merit a mention by the (in my unhumble view) irritating KM (the distaff Tom Service or maybe it should be vice versa). Whatever, well worth exploring.

Thanks for the advice: I've ordered Zimmermann and Batiashvili and await their arrival when I shall test them against KM's first choice (VF) and my old D.Oistrakh/ von Matacic.

[Barbirollians]

Thanks for the advice: I've ordered Zimmermann and Batiashvili and await their arrival when I shall test them against KM's first choice (VF) and my old D.Oistrakh/ von Matacic.

Do you have Chung/Previn ?

[edashtav]

Do you have Chung/Previn ?

No, I don't, Barbirollians: I had intended to order one but found issues with availability and / or cost. Spurred on by your question, I discovered that I had unnecessarily limited the scope of my search. I've thrown my net wider and landed a cost efficient package through Presto.

Many thanks for reactivating me: I look forward both to engaging in some comparative work on the Profofiev, but also listening to the various 'spin-off' works which come packaged with it.

This thread is developing a life of its own.