Chandos
Shostakovich: Violin Concertos 1 & 2 / Mordkovitch, Jarvi
$13.99
Only 3 left
Details
- Composer
- SHOSTAKOVICH, DIMITRI
- Artist
- Mordkovitch, Järvi
- Format
- CD
- Label
- Chandos
- Released
- Jul 31, 2015
- Catalog #
- CHAN 10864 X
- UPC
- 095115186428
About
In the wake of violinist Lydia Mordkovitch’s untimely death in 2014, Chandos has reissued and remastered several of her best recordings for the label, including this 1989 coupling of both Shostakovich violin concertos. The performances remain outstanding on every level.
It’s easy to slight No. 2’s often austere countenance and relatively sparse textures in favor of No. 1’s wider range of moods, textures, and greater surface virtuosity, yet Mordkovitch proves just as compelling and committed as her mentor David Oistrakh. If anything, she surpasses him in the brooding Adagio, where her slightly slower basic tempo, expressive discretion, and mesmerizingly controlled long legato lines grip you from start to finish. One might prefer a more incisive and playful approach to the Allegro finale, yet here the slippery thematic exchanges between soloist and orchestra convey a sense of gravitas and symphonic integrity that build to overwhelming climaxes.
These qualities also reveal themselves in the First concerto’s great third-movement Passacaglia, where the Scottish brass section achieves a smooth collective blend that still projects the music’s ferocity, matched by Mordkovitch’s perfectly tuned high sustained notes and octaves that both pierce and speak at the same time. Both Mordkovitch and Järvi revel in the Burlesque’s bleak brio and in the Scherzo’s rapid-fire chamber interplay, while the long first movement’s gloomy trajectory unfolds with carefully gauged dynamics and balances, from the low-lying woodwind rumbles to the ethereal celesta and harp intertwining at the end. Chandos’ resonant ambience closely approximates concert hall realism, especially if you’re listening via excellent quality loudspeakers or headphones.
-- Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com
It’s easy to slight No. 2’s often austere countenance and relatively sparse textures in favor of No. 1’s wider range of moods, textures, and greater surface virtuosity, yet Mordkovitch proves just as compelling and committed as her mentor David Oistrakh. If anything, she surpasses him in the brooding Adagio, where her slightly slower basic tempo, expressive discretion, and mesmerizingly controlled long legato lines grip you from start to finish. One might prefer a more incisive and playful approach to the Allegro finale, yet here the slippery thematic exchanges between soloist and orchestra convey a sense of gravitas and symphonic integrity that build to overwhelming climaxes.
These qualities also reveal themselves in the First concerto’s great third-movement Passacaglia, where the Scottish brass section achieves a smooth collective blend that still projects the music’s ferocity, matched by Mordkovitch’s perfectly tuned high sustained notes and octaves that both pierce and speak at the same time. Both Mordkovitch and Järvi revel in the Burlesque’s bleak brio and in the Scherzo’s rapid-fire chamber interplay, while the long first movement’s gloomy trajectory unfolds with carefully gauged dynamics and balances, from the low-lying woodwind rumbles to the ethereal celesta and harp intertwining at the end. Chandos’ resonant ambience closely approximates concert hall realism, especially if you’re listening via excellent quality loudspeakers or headphones.
-- Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com
Tracklist 7 tracks
-
1 I. Nocturne: Moderato 12:23
- Track
- 1
- Title
- I. Nocturne: Moderato
- Duration
- 12:23
- Composer
- Dmitri Shostakovich
- Performer
- Lydia Mordkovitch
- Ensemble
- Royal Scottish National Orchestra
- Conductor
- Neeme Järvi
-
2 II. Scherzo: Allegro 06:25
- Track
- 2
- Title
- II. Scherzo: Allegro
- Duration
- 06:25
- Composer
- Dmitri Shostakovich
- Performer
- Lydia Mordkovitch
- Ensemble
- Royal Scottish National Orchestra
- Conductor
- Neeme Järvi
-
3 III. Passacaglia: Andante 14:44
- Track
- 3
- Title
- III. Passacaglia: Andante
- Duration
- 14:44
- Composer
- Dmitri Shostakovich
- Performer
- Lydia Mordkovitch
- Ensemble
- Royal Scottish National Orchestra
- Conductor
- Neeme Järvi
-
4 IV. Burlesque: Allegro con brio 04:41
- Track
- 4
- Title
- IV. Burlesque: Allegro con brio
- Duration
- 04:41
- Composer
- Dmitri Shostakovich
- Performer
- Lydia Mordkovitch
- Ensemble
- Royal Scottish National Orchestra
- Conductor
- Neeme Järvi
-
5 I. Moderato 12:58
- Track
- 5
- Title
- I. Moderato
- Duration
- 12:58
- Composer
- Dmitri Shostakovich
- Performer
- Lydia Mordkovitch
- Ensemble
- Royal Scottish National Orchestra
- Conductor
- Neeme Järvi
-
6 II. Adagio 09:36
- Track
- 6
- Title
- II. Adagio
- Duration
- 09:36
- Composer
- Dmitri Shostakovich
- Performer
- Lydia Mordkovitch
- Ensemble
- Royal Scottish National Orchestra
- Conductor
- Neeme Järvi
-
7 III. Adagio - Allegro 08:13
- Track
- 7
- Title
- III. Adagio - Allegro
- Duration
- 08:13
- Composer
- Dmitri Shostakovich
- Performer
- Lydia Mordkovitch
- Ensemble
- Royal Scottish National Orchestra
- Conductor
- Neeme Järvi