Benjamin Britten - Piano Concerto; Violin Concerto (Sviatoslav Richter; Mark Lubotsky)

Information

Composer: Benjamin Britten

1. Piano Concerto, Op. 13: I. Toccata
2. Piano Concerto, Op. 13: II. Waltz
3. Piano Concerto, Op. 13: III. Impromptu
4. Piano Concerto, Op. 13: IV. March
5. Violin Concerto, Op. 15: I. Moderato con moto
6. Violin Concerto, Op. 15: II. Vivace
7. Violin Concerto, Op. 15: III. Passacaglia: Andante lento

Sviatoslav Richter, piano (1-4)
Mark Lubotsky, violin (5-7)
English Chamber Orchestra
Benjamin Britten, conductor

Date: 1970
Label: Decca
http://www.deccaclassics.com/us/cat/4173082

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Review

GRAMOPHONE EDITOR'S CHOICE

This record tempts me to name-dropping reminiscence! I bought the original LP in July 1971 and during the following month was in the composer's Aldeburgh home and referred not only to the issue itself but also JW's Gramophone review, in which he said that in the Piano Concerto Richter and Britten together brought out a certain Russianness and that, while he thought this was a performance likely to remain unrivalled on record, he ''would dearly like to hear Britten himself in the work''. Britten said that he agreed that there was a Russian flavour to the piece, but modestly added (with his typical wry smile) that although he had been able to play the solo part when he gave the premiere and other early performances, he certainly could not do so any longer. He added with some pride that Richter had learned the concerto ''entirely off his own bat''. The playing here is first rate: a crisp, vital and persuasive account of a work which, with its rather relentless bravura and 1930s brittleness, is not in my view really among Britten's best of the period.

The Violin Concerto composed a year later in Canada appeals to me more; it has much more openness of personal feeling and a final elegiac coda of haunting beauty. But there's still no shortage of virtuoso demands, and indeed Heifetz once asked Britten over a lunch to simplify it or allow him to do so! The composer resisted but was concerned enough to ask Manoug Parikian's advice, which was to leave it as it was. There are some demanding passages of which Lubotsky makes heavy weather (listen from the 1'34'' point of the first movement, for example) and like many other players he slows down considerably and very noticeably in the central scherzo from the marked—and elsewhere played—tempo of dotted crotchet = 104 in the notorious passage beginning at the 4'35'' mark, with its scales in double artificial harmonics. But if not quite in the class of Richter's, this is still a good performance which wears well and conveys the work's powerful feeling. Good sound in both concertos, recorded in The Maltings, Snape, and an attractive buy at mid price.

The recent Hyperion issue is well worth considering if the coupling of the Khachaturian Piano Concerto suits you. Servadei and Giunta with the LPO are more spacious in the Piano Concerto (taking three minutes longer overall) and often winningly sensitive, as in the quiet final statement of the first movement's main theme and the ''Waltz'' and ''Impromptu'' that are the two middle movements, but they offer plenty of brilliance too where it is needed.

-- Christopher Headington, Gramophone

More reviews:
https://www.amazon.com/Britten-Piano-Concerto-Violin-Opp/dp/B00000E38N

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Benjamin Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British classical music, with a range of works including opera, other vocal music, orchestral and chamber pieces. Over the next 28 years, he wrote 14 more operas, establishing himself as one of the leading 20th-century composers in the genre. Britten's other works range from orchestral to choral, solo vocal, chamber and instrumental as well as film music. Britten was also a celebrated pianist and conductor, performing many of his own works in concert and on record.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Britten

***

Sviatoslav Richter (March 20 [O.S. March 7] 1915 – August 1, 1997) was a Soviet pianist known for the depth of his interpretations, virtuoso technique, and vast repertoire. He is considered one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century. Having learned the fundamentals of music from his father, Richter taught himself the piano and had already given public concerts before entering the Moscow Conservatory in 1937. Richter probably had the largest discography but he disliked the recording process, and most of Richter's recordings originate from live performances.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sviatoslav_Richter

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/sviatoslav-richter-mn0000818152/biography

***

Mark Lubotsky (born 18 May 1931 in Leningrad) is a Russian violinist. Lubotsky attended the Moscow Conservatory where he was a student of Abram Jampolski and David Oistrakh. His interest is not only in the classical-romantic repertoire, but also in contemporary music. He had a lifelong friendship with composer Alfred Schnittke. Lubotsky is also a successful violin teacher. He taught at the Moscow Gnessin Institute, Hamburg Conservatory and held master classes in Tokyo, London, Auckland, St. Petersburg and Gothenburg.
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Lubotsky

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

FLAC, tracks

Links in comment

Enjoy!