COMPOSERS: Lalo/Sibelius/Ravel
LABELS: RCA Victor Red Seal
WORKS: Symphonic espagnole; Violin Concerto; zigane
PERFORMER: Itzhak Perlman (violin)LSO/Andre Previn Boston SO/Erich Leinsdorf
CATALOGUE NO: 07863 56520 2 ADD (1966/68)
These youthful performances date from the years immediately following Perlman's winning of the 1964 Leventritt Competition. His technique is not in doubt, his personality is. The Sibelius is a frustrating mixture of great highs and ordinary lows. The Symphonic espagnole never really catches the imagination. And the Ravel sounds distressingly patchy, the spirit and temperament of the music proving surprisingly elusive. Virtuoso orchestras, star conductors and vintage RCA treatment package the product neatly, but somehow it isn't quite enough. Edgy transfer. If you want Perlman in these works, try his later EMI and DG remakes — they're in a different class altogether. Ates Orga
Lalo/Sibelius/Ravel
These youthful performances date from the years immediately following Perlman's winning of the 1964 Leventritt Competition. His technique is not in doubt, his personality is. The Sibelius is a frustrating mixture of great highs and ordinary lows. The Symphonic espagnole never really catches the imagination. And the Ravel sounds distressingly patchy, the spirit and temperament of the music proving surprisingly elusive. Virtuoso orchestras, star conductors and vintage RCA treatment package the product neatly, but somehow it isn't quite enough. Edgy transfer.
Our rating
3
Published: January 20, 2012 at 3:47 pm