# Recommending a CD: Tchaikovsky's violin concerto



## Clouds Weep Snowflakes

I just listened this this CD and it was one of the best violin concertos I've listened to, both in the composition itself and performance; Tchaikovsky was always a favorite of mine, but even he surprised me; and the best part of it all-I got this CD for the price of an ice cream! Get it if you can!
http://i66.tinypic.com/671sti.jpg
http://i65.tinypic.com/15nuohi.jpg


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## Heck148

A few years back, Joshua Bell appeared with our orchestra, he performed the Tchaikovsky VC....it was fun, he knew the piece!! We also played it with Nadia Salerno-Sonnenberg, back when she burst upon the scene...[haven't heard much of her recently].


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## Clouds Weep Snowflakes

Heck148 said:


> A few years back, Joshua Bell appeared with our orchestra, he performed the Tchaikovsky VC....it was fun, he knew the piece!! We also played it with Nadia Salerno-Sonnenberg, back when she burst upon the scene...[haven't heard much of her recently].


This isn't the first violin concerto I've listened to and not the only one I like, I have Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Mozart as well, and they are all beautiful, but this one really blew my ears!


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## Judith

Clouds Weep Snowflakes said:


> I just listened this this CD and it was one of the best violin concertos I've listened to, both in the composition itself and performance; Tchaikovsky was always a favorite of mine, but even he surprised me; and the best part of it all-I got this CD for the price of an ice cream! Get it if you can!
> http://i66.tinypic.com/671sti.jpg
> http://i65.tinypic.com/15nuohi.jpg


Only Joshua Bell can perform Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto the way I love it. Have that recording of him performing it and another one with Michael Tilson Thomas and Berlin Philharmonic which is also lovely


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## Clouds Weep Snowflakes

Judith said:


> Only *Joshua Bell* can perform Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto the way I love it. Have that recording of him performing it and another one with Michael Tilson Thomas and Berlin Philharmonic which is also lovely


Any more details about this violinist/conductor?


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## mbhaub

Joshua Bell is such a pleasure to play with and listen to. He is no prima donna and keeps his ego in check. His performances and recordings always seem honest, serious and well thought out. His flaw, and it's not of his making, is his nationality. There's a real snobbery in classical music and everyone "knows" that an American violinist can't be world-class. I like this version of the concerto with Ashkenazy, but the conductor did make another, with Boris Belkin back in the '70s, that is a real hair-raiser - it's been my favorite version of the complete concerto since it came out.


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## Judith

Clouds Weep Snowflakes said:


> Any more details about this violinist/conductor?


Think when I ordered it, was an import so don't know if still available. Incidentally, there are a couple of lovely videos of him performing this concerto on U Tube. (I have seen Joshua live twice and met him both times. Amazing violinist and lovely guy)


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## Clouds Weep Snowflakes

Classical music is usually attributed to Europe, if that's what you mean; what about Ashkenazy? Sounds Jewish, but from where?


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## mbhaub

Ashkenazy is Russian born, but now a citizen of Iceland. But when you're an international star, it doesn't matter. Ashkenazi jews originally settled in western Germany in the middle ages, but eventually found their way east to Russian areas, again because of religious persecution. His father was a jew, hence the name. Mother was Russian Orthodox.


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## Reichstag aus LICHT

My favourite version of the Tchaikovsky violin concerto is by Maxim Vengerov, with Claudio Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic. It's coupled with a fantastic recording of the Glazunov concerto.

Whilst not usurping Vengerov in my affections, I hugely enjoyed last year's beautiful recording by Hilary Hahn, with Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. Its more unusual pairing is what I believe is the first (and only?) recording of Jennifer Higdon's violin concerto, which is also worth hearing.


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## Xisten267

Well, I really like the performance below with Perlman, Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra, and I love this concerto, but I don't have many recordings of it:


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## DavidA

The version for me is Heifetz with Reiner or hus earlier one with Barbirolli


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## David Phillips

I always liked Heifetz's performance of the end of the First Movement in the 1947 movie 'Carnegie Hall'.


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## Brahmsianhorn

Everyone should at least hear the 1928 Huberman. Not only was the virtuosity dazzling but he had an improvisatory feel. The sound is actually quite good for the period.


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## wkasimer

Brahmsianhorn said:


> Everyone should at least hear the 1928 Huberman. Not only was the virtuosity dazzling but he had an improvisatory feel. The sound is actually quite good for the period.


And the Beethoven isn't bad, either.


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## RockyIII

I haven't heard Bell's recording yet, but I enjoy the recording of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto by Julia Fischer with the Russian National Orchestra and Kreizberg.


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## mbhaub

If you really love this music like I do, there's this version that is absolutely breathtaking. Even at home you'll stand up and cheer at the end. Thrilling account:


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## Reichstag aus LICHT

mbhaub said:


> If you really love this music like I do, there's this version that is absolutely breathtaking. Even at home you'll stand up and cheer at the end. Thrilling account:


Astonishing! I bloody love virtuoso accordionists


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## brahmsgirl

That's my personal favourite „version" of this concerto. 
I also enjoy this with Julia Fischer and Russian National Orchestra (Naxos, 2006) -> 
http://themusicgala.com/classical/fischer-tchaikovsky-violin-concerto/


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## Oldhoosierdude

Clouds Weep Snowflakes said:


> This isn't the first violin concerto I've listened to and not the only one I like, I have Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Mozart as well, and they are all beautiful, but this one really blew my ears!


Korngold has a fantastic VC. As does Bruch and Sibelius.


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## flamencosketches

Oldhoosierdude said:


> Korngold has a fantastic VC. As does Bruch and Sibelius.


Haven't heard the Korngold, but the Bruch is a classic and the Sibelius is one of his best works.

On topic, I haven't heard the Tchaikovsky. I'll have to check out that recording OP. I'm on a bit of a concertos kick.


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## annaw

Heifetz and Reiner for me, although I think Joshua Bell is also very very good


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## Orfeo

I'm quite surprised no one has mentioned this album yet. Their artistry gets under the skin of these idioms not so much worlds apart, but yet have something different to say. Enlivening in short.


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## Clouds Weep Snowflakes

Orfeo said:


> I'm quite surprised no one has mentioned this album yet. Their artistry gets under the skin of these idioms not so much worlds apart, but yet have something different to say. Enlivening in short.


I'm not familiar with Myaskovsky, I just checked, and I think I would like him; anything to recommend?


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## Orfeo

Clouds Weep Snowflakes said:


> I'm not familiar with Myaskovsky, I just checked, and I think I would like him; anything to recommend?


There're plenty of his music worth exploring, and given that it is accessible, getting to know it is fairly easy. There is, however, an elusive, self-effacing aspects of his writing that only yields its secrets gradually (much like Glazunov or Bax, or even Bruckner), but repeating listening yields greater rewards, and his music does have the power to enrich (it's that moving). For starters:


*Piano music*: Piano Sonatas IV, VII, VIII, Prelude and Rondo-Sonata op. 58, Yellowed Leaves. Recommended album: McLachlan (Olympia/Alto)
*Instrumental*: Cello Sonatas I & II, Violin Sonata.
*Concerto*: Cello Concerto. Recommended album: Julian Lloyd Webber and Maxim Shostakovich with the London SO (Philip)
*Chamber*: String Quartets II, IX, X, XIII. Any of the available albums will do.
*Symphonies*: XXVII, XXV, XXIV, XXI, XVI, XV, XIII, IX, V, VI, II. Recommended albums: Svetlanov (for all of them), Kondrashin and the Moscow PO & USSR State SO (for nos. VI, XV), Downes and the BBC Phil. (for nos. V & IX), Measham & the National PO (for no. XXI), Jarvi and the Gothenburg SO (for no. VI), Rozhdestvensky and the USSR Ministry of Culture SO (for no. II), Ivanov and the USSR SO (for no. XVI).
*Misc.*: Theme et Variations for Strings, Two Pieces for Strings (from the middle movements of Symphony no. XIX), Napeve. - all available in ASV album. Also Slavic Rhapsody, Divertissement, op. 80 (as part of the Svetlanov set mentioned above).

Good luck and enjoy.


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## Clouds Weep Snowflakes

Orfeo said:


> There're plenty of his music worth exploring, and given that it is accessible, getting to know it is fairly easy. There is, however, an elusive, self-effacing aspects of his writing that only yields its secrets gradually (much like Glazunov or Bax, or even Bruckner), but repeating listening yields greater rewards, and his music does have the power to enrich (it's that moving). For starters:
> 
> 
> *Piano music*: Piano Sonatas IV, VII, VIII, Prelude and Rondo-Sonata op. 58, Yellowed Leaves. Recommended album: McLachlan (Olympia/Alto)
> *Instrumental*: Cello Sonatas I & II, Violin Sonata.
> *Concerto*: Cello Concerto. Recommended album: Julian Lloyd Webber and Maxim Shostakovich with the London SO (Philip)
> *Chamber*: String Quartets II, IX, X, XIII. Any of the available albums will do.
> *Symphonies*: XXVII, XXV, XXIV, XXI, XVI, XV, XIII, IX, V, VI, II. Recommended albums: Svetlanov (for all of them), Kondrashin and the Moscow PO & USSR State SO (for nos. VI, XV), Downes and the BBC Phil. (for nos. V & IX), Measham & the National PO (for no. XXI), Jarvi and the Gothenburg SO (for no. VI), Rozhdestvensky and the USSR Ministry of Culture SO (for no. II), Ivanov and the USSR SO (for no. XVI).
> *Misc.*: Theme et Variations for Strings, Two Pieces for Strings (from the middle movements of Symphony no. XIX), Napeve. - all available in ASV album. Also Slavic Rhapsody, Divertissement, op. 80 (as part of the Svetlanov set mentioned above).
> 
> Good luck and enjoy.


Thanks! Anyone else?


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## haydnguy

mbhaub said:


> Joshua Bell is such a pleasure to play with and listen to. He is no prima donna and keeps his ego in check. His performances and recordings always seem honest, serious and well thought out. His flaw, and it's not of his making, is his nationality. There's a real snobbery in classical music and everyone "knows" that an American violinist can't be world-class. I like this version of the concerto with Ashkenazy, but the conductor did make another, with Boris Belkin back in the '70s, that is a real hair-raiser - it's been my favorite version of the complete concerto since it came out.


I saw Joshua Bell in concert too and was very good. Back to your other point, just the other day I saw an article (I can't find it now) where the topic was Best Female Violinist Today. I think their top choice was Julia Fischer which is certainly a fine choice. Nowhere, however, did they have Hilary Hahn. If you had seem some of the others, it was a joke. The author said that if we put our email address in that he would get back to us. When I said, "Where's Hilary Hahn?" I never heard from him. Didn't surprise me.


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## Enthusiast

Repin's with Gergiev is certainly excellent. Of the top of my head, other good ones include those by Kopatchinskaja & Currentzis (perhaps not for everyone) and Mullova & Ozawa. And I'm sure there are others!


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## DBLee

Oistrakh, anyone?


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## Kiki

Enthusiast said:


> Repin's with Gergiev is certainly excellent. Of the top of my head, other good ones include those by Kopatchinskaja & Currentzis (perhaps not for everyone) and Mullova & Ozawa. And I'm sure there are others!


Kopatchinskaja/Currentzis is definitely a cracker! ... but have to agree it's probably not for everyone.

Perhaps if Paganini were to play it, it could sound like that.


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## Pyotr

DavidA said:


> The version for me is Heifetz with Reiner .....


This is mine too.


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## wkasimer

I don't believe that Kyung-Wha Chung's second recording has been mentioned:









I prefer this uncut version to her earlier recording with Previn, which employs the cuts made by Leopold Auer.


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## Hugo9000

This site is very useful if you're interested in finding uncut performances of Tchaikovsky's violin concerto. It also documents major recordings and which cuts or other changes they employed.

http://en.tchaikovsky-research.net/pages/Violin_Concerto:_Recordings

For example, Heifetz used the Leopold Auer version with 92 bars cut from the finale, but added a few of his own alterations to the score.


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## Geoff48

I think that Russian violinists manage to find something special in Tchaikovsky’s Concerto. David Oistrakh is probably the finest although Leonid Kogan runs him pretty close. Oistrakh had a specially sweet tone. Kogan’s misfortune was to be his contemporary and always to be compared with him rather than judged on his own merits. And on his own merits he was great. Unfortunately there seem to be cuts in his version with Silvestri. As a second version, not an only one, I would suggest listening to Mischa Elman. Also Russian but from a previous generation. He made a renowned version on shellac with Barbirolli and then at the end of his career recorded it for Decca with Adrian Boult and the London Philharmonic. The music occasionally crawls along, his technique has problems with the cadenza but maybe these speeds are how Tchaikovsky would have heard it. Maybe one to listen to on Spotify or one of the other streaming sites initially.
Incidentally one violinist who seemed to avoid this Concerto was Yehudi Menuhin. I know there is a recording with Fricsay which manages to cut the last movement to under six minutes. He also started to record it for HMV with Boult but this was never completed. However due to to the miracles of modern engineering Warner have managed to create a complete performance. I’m not sure of the ethics of this as clearly Menuhin was dissatisfied with what he had done but it’s well worth listening to. However if you want to hear genuine Menuhin Tchaikovsky try his 20 minute contribution to the Efrem Kurtz highlights from Swan Lake. The guy is really exceptional here.


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## flamencosketches

Oistrakh/Konwitschny/Dresden is awesome. My go-to for this work. Though I also do like Heifetz/Reiner/Chicago quite a bit for a different perspective.


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## Animal the Drummer

Another vote for Oistrakh/Konwitschny. Tchaikovsky's not a top enthusiasm of mine and even then there are other works I prefer to the Violin Concerto. This was the recording which first got me onside with it.


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## Enthusiast

Batiashvili's recording with Barenboim, coupled with her second bash at the Sibelius is a good one. I seem to have too many recordings of the work and don't even like it that much! But I do like hearing what different violinists do with it.


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## DavidA

Of course one must hear Heifezt with Reiner but his earlier one with Barbirolli must he heard too as it is that bit more relaxed. imo


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## Brahmsianhorn

DavidA said:


> Of course one must hear Heifezt with Reiner but his earlier one with Barbirolli must he heard too as it is that bit more relaxed. imo


Heifetz/Barbirolli was my favorite until I came upon the 1928 Huberman/Steinberg, fairly well recorded considering the date. IMO Huberman did the best interpretation of this concerto. His later live version with Ormandy is arguably even better, though the sound is scratchier.


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## Josquin13

Among older recordings, for me, the first choice is David Oistrakh, with either Konwitschny in Dresden or Ormandy in Philadelphia:






My next choice would be violinist Michael Rabin, with the Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Alceo Galliera (though Rabin was technically a better violinist than Oistrakh, & just about everyone else for that matter): 




My third choice would be Nathan Milstein--his classic recording with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, conducted by William Steinberg (which is better than the later Abbado recording, if memory serves...): 



.

& my fourth choice would be violinist Arthur Grumiaux with the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, conducted by Bernard Haitink, who's an underrated and often illuminating Tchaikovsky conductor, IMO: 



. (I find Grumiaux's violin playing to be more interesting than Henryk Szeryng's, who likewise recorded the work with Haitink on Philips.)

As for digital era recordings (or nearly so), my top five picks for this work are: (1) Oleg Kagan (a student of Oistrakh's), with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Diansug Kachidze: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajZXXDUAxa8Uto; (2) Uto Ughi with the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Kurt Sanderling (on RCA Red Seal): 



 & https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8366602--tchaikovsky-dvorak-concerto-per-violino; (3) Boris Belkin with the Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy (or a live 1975 video in New York with Leonard Bernstein: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzX9GSao1QI); (4) Vadim Repin with the Kirov Orchestra, conducted by Valery Gergiev (though Repin has recorded the work a number of times, and I'm not certain this is the best of them): 



, and (5) Maxim Vengerov with the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Claudio Abbado. (Gil Shaham is excellent too, but I'm not crazy about Sinopoli's conducting. I have not heard Lisa Batiashvili with Barenboim on DG, despite that I am a huge fan of her violin playing. However, I was disappointed with Barenboim's conducting of the Sibelius VC coupling--as he's no Sibelian.)

As usual, there are a lot of good ones to choose from...


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## Joachim Raff

Unless you go for a vintage recording, it makes little difference as nearly all modern day violinists sound the same. Heifetz, Oistrakh, Milstein, Perlman had a unique sound so best to listen to them and make your mind up which you like the best.


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## DavidA

Joachim Raff said:


> Unless you go for a vintage recording, it makes little difference as nearly all modern day violinists sound the same. Heifetz, Oistrakh, Milstein, Perlman had a unique sound so best to listen to them and make your mind up which you like the best.


I never quite see this band about all modern violinists sousing the same as they don't to me. Can someone enlighten me on this?


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