Brahms – Violin Concerto – Klemperer – French National Radio Orchestra (Speakers Corner 180g Vinyl LP)

Johannes Brahms’s first and only violin concerto was mocked as being not with but ‘against the violin’. This cutting remark was less directed at the tricky passages, which made enormous demands on the technical dexterity from the even the greatest virtuosi, but rather more at the challenge of asserting his small violin against the large orchestra. It was not only the soloist who had to possess star qualities in this symphonic masterwork, but the orchestra too.

Let us begin with the conductor Otto Klemperer, who here proves his highly competent command of the tightly knit score. His celebrated analytic comprehension delves deep into the complex score and brings all the details together to create a melodious entity, whereby the French National Orchestra play with total commitment. David Oistrakh answers with a saturated tone and broad gestures on the violin. He lets the expansive melodies of the gigantic first movement emerge with wide sweeps of his bow, fills the slow movement with a wealth of lyrical sentiment, and in the fiery last movement he displays his entire skill as a brilliant virtuoso who amalgamates dancelike exuberance with dramatic presence. A truly referential recording!

This Speakers Corner 180g vinyl LP reissue was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the master tapes through to the cutting head.

Musicians:
Johannes Brahms, composer
Otto Klemperer, conductor
David Oistrach, violin
French National Radio Orchestra

1. First Movement Allegro Non Troppo
2. Second Movement Adagio
3. Third Movement Allegro Giocoso