Ruggiero Ricci is in his element in these virtuoso concertos and showpieces, with both the Tchaikovsky Concerto (with Sargent) and the Scherzo plus the Sibelius Violin Concerto, being released internationally on CD for the first time. The perceptive booklet notes by Tully Potter include a biography of Ricci and (sometimes wry!) comments by the violinist himself on the recordings plus some fascinating detail on the first movement cadenza of the Khachaturian. All the recordings were made in a five-year period from 1956 (Khachaturian) to 1961 (Tchaikovsky).
CD1
JEAN SIBELIUS
Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47*
PYOTR ILIYCH TCHAIKOVSKY
Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35**
Scherzo, Op. 42 No. 2 from Souvenir d’un lieu cher*
Serenade melancolique, Op. 26*
CD2
CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS
Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 28+
Havannaise, Op. 83+
PABLO DE SARASATE
Zigeunerwelsen, Op. 20+
Carmen Fantasie, Op. 25+
ARAM KHACHATURIAN
Violin Concerto++
Ruggiero Ricci, violin
London Symphony Orchestra*
Oivin Fjeldstad*
London Symphony Orchestra**
Malcolm Sargent**
London Symphony Orchestra+
Piero Gamba+
London Philharmonic Orchestra++
Anatole Fistoulari++