Notes and Editorial Reviews
The big discovery here is Mieczyslaw Weinberg's Concertino of 1948. It sounds for all the world like a Russian take on Barber's concerto: highly lyrical, with a touch of restrained melancholy and a bittersweet harmonic palette that's very memorable. It also receives the finest performance on disc, though Sergey Ostrovsky (concertmaster of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande) is never less than musicianly in all three works. He sports a somewhat slender but attractive tone, and his intonation is spot-on. This serves the gently reticent Weinberg work perfectly.
In the Conus and Arensky concertos, which might be described as Tchaikovsky without the tunes, and the former of which is particularly heavily scored, Ostrovsky's attempt
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at the Romantic grand gesture means a more prominent vibrato without a compensating richness of sonority. Compare his handling of the Conus concerto with, for example, Perlman's, and you'll hear the difference immediately. Naxos' engineers balance this recording perhaps a bit too naturally--a more forward placement of the soloist might have been appropriate. Still, this is an enjoyable collection of rarely heard works, and the Weinberg in particular deserves a place in the repertoire of soloists and chamber orchestras everywhere.
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com
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Works on This Recording
1.
Concerto for Violin in E minor by Julius Conus
Performer:
Sergey Ostrovsky (Violin)
Conductor:
Thomas Sanderling
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1896-1897; Russia
2.
Concertino for Violin, Op. 42 by Mieczyslaw Weinberg
Performer:
Sergey Ostrovsky (Violin)
Conductor:
Thomas Sanderling
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Period: 20th Century
Written: 1948
3.
Concerto for Violin in A minor, Op. 54 by Anton Arensky
Performer:
Sergey Ostrovsky (Violin)
Conductor:
Thomas Sanderling
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1891; Russia
Sound Samples
Violin Concerto in E minor
Violin Concertino, Op. 42: I. Allegretto cantabile -
Violin Concertino, Op. 42: II. Cadenza. Lento - Adagio -
Violin Concertino, Op. 42: III. Allegro moderato poco rubato
Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 54
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