If you think the three pieces on this disc make odd bedfellows, just listen to the opening of the finale of the Paganini, skip to the finale of the Strauss and then go into the Tchaikovsky Valse-Scherzo. Sparkling wit and virtuosity abound and what’s more, the Paganini receives its first release on CD (outside Taiwan), the Tchaikovsky was only ever momentarily available in CD (and not in Australia) and the Strauss is a party piece quite unlike anything else the composer wrote. Boris Belkin wowed Sydney audiences by his stunning performances of the Sibelius Violin Concerto in Sydney as part of the Sibelius/Ashkenazy cycle, so it is good to welcome him back with this retrospective, especially as the Paganini marks the first recording he made for Decca and the Strauss his last for the label.
NICOLÒ PAGANINI
Violin Concerto No. 1 in B major, Op. 6
Boris Belkin, violin
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
Zubin Mehta
RICHARD STRAUSS
Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 8
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
Valse-Scherzo, Op. 34
Boris Belkin, violin
Radio-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin [Strauss]
New Philharmonia Orchestra [Tchaikovsky]
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Recording producers: Ray Minshull (Paganini); Michael Haas (Strauss); Richard Beswick (Tchaikovsky)
Recording engineers: James Lock (Paganini); Stanley Goodall (Strauss); Kenneth Wilkinson, John Dunkerley (Tchaikovsky)
Recording locations: Mann Auditorium, Tel Aviv, April 1976 (Paganini); Jesus-Christus-Kirche, Berlin, January 1991 (Strauss); Kingsway Hall, London, April 1977 (Tchaikovsky)
‘Belkin’s commanding and dashing performances earn a strong recommendation’ Fanfare
‘A real treat for violin fans … Belkin’s technique is beyond reproach, with many passages that stun for their sheer audacity as well as accuracy’ ClassicsToday.com
‘Belkin bestows on this music the same sterling musicianship you would expect of him when playing one of the great concertos, especially in the engaging, brightly-lit first movement and the finale’s driving presto’ ClassicsToday.com