Notes and Editorial Reviews
"The sound is as vibrant and present as if it had been recorded yesterday, and one would not know it is a live performance until the applause comes at the end. Oistrakh is in top form, with an especially glowing Adagio that speaks to everything that made his artistry so special. His was a classically poised, Apollonian style, and I think that among Romantic concertos the essentially Classical structure and balance of the Brahms played best to Oistrakh’s strengths. I recall a Columbia Records LP of the Mendelssohn and Mozart Fourth Violin Concertos with Oistrakh and Eugene Ormandy conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra. Oistrakh’s way with the Mendelssohn was wonderful, but the Mozart sang and danced in a way that was truly special. You
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knew that this was where Oistrakh’s heart and soul were.
Of the Oistrakh/Brahms performances I know, this Supraphon release would be my choice for favorite.
I doubt that many will rush to buy this disc for Antonio Pedrotti conducting Brahms’s Fourth Symphony. Which is too bad, because it’s actually quite good. Not competitive of course with the best—Carlos Kleiber (of whose passing I just learned while writing this) on DG, and a recent issue on an EMI CD of a Giulini Fourth with the Chicago Symphony—but still, Pedrotti manages to hold his own. His Fourth is one of the fastest and most driven I have heard (just over 37 minutes), an approach, especially in the last movement, that emphasizes the sheer ferocity and terror of this music. The Czech Philharmonic, of course, is incomparably fine, in my estimation one of the very best orchestras in the world, a position it has held for a long time and under a number of conductors. And the sound, once again, as in the concerto, is superb.
For Oistrakh fans, this CD is a must. For those who may be unfamiliar with Oistrakh’s artistry, though such a thing is hard to imagine, here is an excellent opportunity to become familiar with one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century."
Jerry Dubins, FANFARE
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Works on This Recording
1.
Concerto for Violin in D major, Op. 77 by Johannes Brahms
Performer:
David Oistrakh (Violin)
Conductor:
Antonio Pedrotti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1878; Austria
2.
Symphony no 4 in E minor, Op. 98 by Johannes Brahms
Conductor:
Antonio Pedrotti
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1884-1885; Austria
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