More of the music of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
More of the music of Niccolo Paganini (1782-1840)
- A vintage Decca pressing of these superb concertos with stunning Nearly Triple Plus (A++ to A+++) sound on both sides, just shy of our Shootout Winner – fairly quiet vinyl too
- This copy (only the second to hit the site in two years) showed us the balance of clarity and sweetness we were looking for in the violin – not many recordings from this era can do that
- Campoli brings his warmth, feeling, and technical precision to these classical masterpieces
- Some old record collectors (like me) say classical recording quality ain’t what it used to be – here’s the proof
- Our favorite performance of the Tchaikovsky is still the RCA with Heifetz, but the best copies of this record are not far behind
- With the wonderful Paganini-Kreisler piece on side two, this record comes very highly recommended
Side two earned a grade of Double Plus (A++) for the third movement of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. The second work on that side, Kreisler’s reworking of the first movement of the Paganini Concerto No. 1, earned Three Pluses. It is hard to fault. Pull up some youtube videos to see just how amazing and exciting it is.
A true Demo Disc Violin Recording.
And better than the original London pressing we had of the recording – the reissue is actually tubier, with none of the dryness you sometimes hear on London discs, and very dynamic.
(We know a thing or two about Decca recordings with dry strings. We delved into the subject here.)
Higher-rez and more present too. (more…)