Hindemith - Violin Concerto Bruch - Scottish Fantasia (Oistrakh) [2006]

1. Scottish Fantasy, for violin & orchestra, Op. 46: Introduction. Grave. Adagio cantabile    
2. Scottish Fantasy, for violin & orchestra, Op. 46: Allegro. Andante sostenuto    
3. Scottish Fantasy, for violin & orchestra, Op. 46: Finale. Allegro Guerriero    
4. Violin Concerto, for violin & orchestra: Massig Bewegte Halbe    
5. Violin Concerto, for violin & orchestra: Langsam    
6. Violin Concerto, for violin & orchestra: Lebhaft

David Oistrakh – violin
London Symphony Orchestra
Jascha Horenstein – conductor

Max Bruch’s Scottish Fantasia is a late-Romantic work which is seldom found on concert hall programmes today. One realises after listening to the piece for the first time that the composition proves to be at least as solid and artistic as all the other works of the composer.

The London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jascha Horenstein gives a sonorous interpretation of the melancholic which, according to Bruch, depicted an aged minstrel who, while gazing upon the ruins of an ancient keep, ponders over the splendid days gone by. The well-known slender but warm timbre of David Oistrakh’s violin is well suited to this music which was inspired by Scotland.

David Oistrakh demonstrates his versatility in this performance of Hindemith’s Violin Concerto, written in 1939, where he effortlessly mesmerises the audience with breakneck cascades of scales. With many years of experience in the performance of modern music, the London Symphony Orchestra, led by the composer himself, prove that they are a match for this work.

This 1962 Decca recording engineered by Arthur Lilly and Alan Reeve at Walthamstow Town Hall in London offers first class interpretations of two great masterpieces from differing eras that have been acclaimed widely and have reached far beyond the circle of Oistrakh fans. Our Highest Recommnedation! --- musicdirect.com

Oistrakh fans no doubt will own this legendary recording of the Hindemith Violin Concerto, which is making its third appearance on CD, this time paired with its original LP partner, Bruch's Scottish Fantasy. Along with the Stern/Bernstein recording on Sony, Oistrakh's version (playing under the composer's baton) is one of the classic accounts of this inventive work and it is good to see it again, even though it's also currently available in Decca's Australian Eloquence series. Sound quality has not improved much beyond these other versions (despite the 96/24 digital transfer), except for the intrusion of slightly more tape hiss.

This two-disc set also includes the Oistrakhs (father and son Igor) in their rousing 1963 version of Mozart's Sinfonia concertante under Kirill Kondrashin and the Moscow Philharmonic. As on their later, slightly faster 1972 recording with the Berlin Philharmonic (on EMI), Oistrakh senior plays the viola part with amazing dexterity--but as a whole, the EMI version remains the favorite (and probably the best-ever recording of the work), thanks to the consummate orchestral accompaniment from the Berlin forces. By contrast, their Russian counterparts sound rough-edged and earthy. Mozart's charming Duo for Violin and Viola in G major (also on the original LP with the Sinfonia) graces this generous (if incongruous) compilation that no Oistrakh devotee will want to be without. ---Michael Leibowitz, ClassicsToday.com

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