The second category in my survey of Sir John Barbirolli: The Complete Warner Recordings will be the concerto recordings original released as 78 RPM albums. One of my first observations was that I was already familiar with about half of this content. The four concerto performances by pianist Artur Rubinstein are also included in the 94-CD Rubinstein Collection, originally produced by RCA; and there are two CDs of content that had been released, again originally by RCA, in Jascha Heifetz: The Complete Album Collection. The Heifetz recordings cover five concertos and three “encore” selections, Pablo Sarasate’s “Zigeunerweisen” (Gypsy life) and two virtuoso pieces by Camille Saint-Saëns, the Opus 28 coupling of an introduction to a rondo capriccioso and the Opus 83 “Havanaise.” Finally, there is a single concerto recording by Yehudi Menuhin, which can also be found in the Historic Recordings box of the mammoth Warner Classics collection The Menuhin Century.
Among these “reruns,” the only real disappointment is Menuhin playing Robert Schumann’s WoO 23 concerto in D minor. Menuhin never seems to get his head around what makes this concerto tick; and, to be fair, he is far from the only one to find the piece problematic. In those circumstances it is difficult to tell just how well-informed Barbirolli was. However, the recording was made with the New York Philharmonic (then known as the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York), whose relationship with Barbirolli was not the best.
On the other hand there is refreshing diversity in the recordings made by both Rubinstein and Heifetz. Rubinstein’s repertoire begins with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (K. 488 in A major), proceeds through both of Frédéric Chopin’s concertos, and concludes with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Opus 23 (first) concerto in B-flat minor. Rubinstein’s approach to Mozart may not have been “historically informed;” but both his clarity of execution and his give-and-take with Barbirolli are likely to satisfy the attentive listener.
The Heifetz repertoire also begins with Mozart (K. 219, the last of the five concertos written in the key of A major) and also includes Tchaikovsky (Opus 35 in D major). The other concerto composers are Henri Vieuxtemps (Opus 31 in D minor), Henryk Wieniawski (Opus 22 in D minor), and Alexander Glazunov (Opus 82 in A minor). Equally satisfying is the recording of Heifetz’ frequent colleague, Gregor Piatigorsky, playing Schumann’s Opus 129 cello concerto in A minor. Suffice it to say that Piatigorsky is much more at home with Schumann than Menuhin was!
Several other historically significant pianists are included on these recordings: Wilhelm Backhaus (Edvard Grieg’s Opus 16 in A minor), Alfred Cortot (his own edition of Chopin’s Opus 21 concerto in F minor), Edwin Fischer (Mozart’s K. 482 in E-flat major), and Artur Schabel (Mozart’s K. 595 in B-flat major). One could not ask for a better survey of virtuoso piano performances during the first half of the twentieth century. Similarly, the violin soloists include Mischa Elman (Johann Sebastian Bach’s BWV 1042 concerto in E major and Tchaikovsky’s Opus 35) and Fritz Kreisler (Ludwig van Beethoven’s Opus 61 in D major and Johannes Brahms Opus 77 in D major). Some may think that Kreisler was serving up the usual meat and potatoes; but his CD definitely deserves attentive listening, including the cadenzas of his own composition.
Even with the latest remastering techniques, one is aware of the vintage of all of these recordings. Nevertheless, this collection features a significant array of twentieth-century virtuosi; and, for all of our contemporary perspectives, there is much to be learned from all of them. The remastering allows one to appreciate the overall flow of each selection without having to worry about breaks involved with changing one 78 disc for another!
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