COMPOSERS: Tchaikovsky
LABELS: EMI Eminence
WORKS: Violin Concerto in D; Variations on a Rococo Theme; Andante cantabile; Pezzo capriccioso
PERFORMER: Vladimir Spivakov (violin), Paul Tortelier (cello); Philharmonia Orchestra/Seiji Ozawa, Academy of St Martin in the Fields/ Neville Marriner, Northern Sinfonia/Yan Pascal Tortelier
CATALOGUE NO: CD-EMX 2263 ADD/DDD (1974-82)
Vladimir Spivakov’s account of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto impressed as much for its humility and eloquence as its dizzy bravura when originally issued in 1982. Seiji Ozawa and the Philharmonia Orchestra provide attentive support, and the performance is spaciously recorded.
The chief joy on this disc, though, is Paul Tortelier’s affectionate reading of the Variations on a Rococo Theme, accompanied by his conductor son, Yan Pascal. It is a vintage Tortelier performance: massively assured, but imbued with that endearing charm that was the man himself. Each of the seven variations is conveniently indexed individually.
The fillers again feature Paul Tortelier, in the Pezzo capriccioso, Op. 62, and the ubiquitous Andante cantabile (an arrangement of the slow movement from Tchaikovsky’s First String Quartet), magically played with the ASMF under Marriner. Worthy performances and serviceable digital transfers. Michael Jameson