COMPOSERS: Bach/Vivaldi
LABELS: Sony Essential Classics
WORKS: Violin Concertos
PERFORMER: Pinchas Zukerman (vln), with Kenneth Sillito (vln); English Chamber Orchestra/Los Angeles Philharmonic/Zukerman
CATALOGUE NO: SBK 48273 (1972-78)
This generously filled disc includes the two solo violin concertos by Bach, as well as two solo and two double concertos by Vivaldi. The performances, from the early 1970s, are as old-fashioned in their way as versions recorded decades before, not just in the use of modern rather than period instruments but also in Zukerman’s combination of Romanticism with a sweetness of tone which at times borders on the sickly. The unnatural, up-front recording makes even the reliable ECO sound heavy-footed. David Michaels
Bach/Vivaldi: Violin Concertos
This generously filled disc includes the two solo violin concertos by Bach, as well as two solo and two double concertos by Vivaldi. The performances, from the early 1970s, are as old-fashioned in their way as versions recorded decades before, not just in the use of modern rather than period instruments but also in Zukerman’s combination of Romanticism with a sweetness of tone which at times borders on the sickly. The unnatural, up-front recording makes even the reliable ECO sound heavy-footed. David Michaels
Our rating
3
Published: January 20, 2012 at 2:35 pm