Brahms: Violin Concerto
EMI Columbia SAX-2411
Format: 1LP 180g 33rpm / standard sleeve
Manufacturer: Speakers Corner
Original label: EMI

Johannes Brahms: Violin Concerto In D Major, op. 77 – David Oistrakh (v); the French National Radio Orchestra conducted by Otto Klemperer

Brahms’s first and only violin concerto was mocked as being not with but 'against the violin'. This cutting remark was less directed at the tricky passages, which made enormous demands on the technical dexterity from the even the greatest virtuosi, but rather more at the challenge of asserting his small violin against the large orchestra. It was not only the soloist who had to possess star qualities in this symphonic masterwork, but the orchestra too. Let us begin with the conductor Otto Klemperer, who here proves his highly competent command of the tightly knit score. His celebrated analytic comprehension delves deep into the complex score and brings all the details together to create a melodious entity, whereby the French National Orchestra play with total commitment. David Oistrakh answers with a saturated tone and broad gestures on the violin. He lets the expansive melodies of the gigantic first movement emerge with wide sweeps of his bow, fills the slow movement with a wealth of lyrical sentiment, and in the fiery last movement he displays his entire skill as a brilliant virtuoso who amalgamates dancelike exuberance with dramatic presence. A truly referential recording!

This Speakers Corner LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the master tapes through to the cutting head. More information under http://www.pure-analogue.com. All royalties and mechanical rights have been paid.

Recording: June 1960 at Salle Wagram, Paris, by Harold Davidson
Production: Walter Legge