Lalo/Saint-Saens/Berlioz

This disc explodes from the speakers with a galvanic frisson of bravura at the start of Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole, announcing a superlative reading from Itzhak Perlman. His playing throughout this sultry Mediterranean masterwork is breathtaking; he excels his own phenomenal best in the finale, a revelation of virtuoso violin art at its finest. Saint-Saëns’s Third Concerto deserves wider currency, and this is a performance of masterful proportions, deeply considered, and sympathetically accompanied by the Paris Orchestra under Barenboim’s watchful direction.

Our rating

5

Published: January 20, 2012 at 3:16 pm

COMPOSERS: Lalo/Saint-Saens/Berlioz
LABELS: DG Masters
WORKS: Symphonie espagnole; Violin Concerto No. 3 in B minor; Rêverie et caprice
PERFORMER: Itzhak Perlman (violin)Orchestre de Paris/Daniel Barenboim
CATALOGUE NO: 445 549-2 DDD (1981/83)

This disc explodes from the speakers with a galvanic frisson of bravura at the start of Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole, announcing a superlative reading from Itzhak Perlman. His playing throughout this sultry Mediterranean masterwork is breathtaking; he excels his own phenomenal best in the finale, a revelation of virtuoso violin art at its finest. Saint-Saëns’s Third Concerto deserves wider currency, and this is a performance of masterful proportions, deeply considered, and sympathetically accompanied by the Paris Orchestra under Barenboim’s watchful direction. Berlioz composed his delectable Rêverie et caprice in 1841; Perlman remains an ideal exponent of this rarity, completing a magnificent reissue. DG have revamped original digital masters, and sonics are enthrallingly vivid throughout. Michael Jameson

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