Max Bruch - Violin Concertos (Salvatore Accardo)

Information

Composer: Max Bruch

CD1:

• (01-03) Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26
• (04-06) Violin Concerto No. 2 in D minor, Op. 44
• (07-09) Serenade for violin and orchestra, Op. 75

CD2:

• (01) Serenade for violin and orchestra, Op. 75 (continued)
• (02-04) Violin Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 58
• (05-10) Scottish Fantasy, Op. 46

Salvatore Accardo, violin
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
Kurt Masur, conductor

Date: 1977, 1978
Label: Philips
http://www.deccaclassics.com/us/cat/4621672

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Review

I have long treasured the Philips LPs of Salvatore Accardo's l977/8 recordings of all three violin concertos of Max Bruch and his other seldom-heard works for violin and orchestra. Accardo's tone is always luminous, his technique unquestioned, always at the service of the music. Now we have all three of the concertos, plus the Scottish Fantasy, Op. 46, and the Serenade, Op. 75, all in one convenient 2-CD set at a most reasonable price. The reproduction is broad, spacious and defined, with the solo violin in perfect perspective.

But Bruch wrote other compelling works for violin and orchestra: Adagio appassionato, Op. 57, Romanze in A Minor, Op. 42, Konzertstück in F Sharp Minor, Op. 84, and one of the composer's finest concerted works, In Memoriam, Op. 65. All of these are to be had in a second Philips Duo set which features as well all three of Bruch's symphonies. The first, written in 1868, is dedicated to Brahms, the second, dating from two years later, is dedicated to the great violinist Joachim, and the third was composed in 1882, commissioned for the Symphony Society of New York and premiered by them that year. No heaven-storming symphonic tragedies here; this is pleasant, unassuming music reminiscent of Schumann and Mendelssohn, often drawing upon folk tunes for its ideas. Kurt Masur leads the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra in all of this music, a sensitive accompanist for Accardo, a strong advocate for the symphonies. The current Schwann/Opus doesn't list either of these Philips sets, but both are in the catalog, and highly recommended.

-- Robert Benson (Nov. 1999), Classical CD Review

More reviews:
BBC Music Magazine  PERFORMANCE: ***** / SOUND: *****
http://www.amazon.com/Bruch-Complete-Concertos-Scottish-Fantasy/dp/B0000069CT

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Max Bruch (6 January 1838 in Cologne – 2 October 1920 in Berlin) was a German Romantic composer and conductor. He wrote over 200 works, including three violin concertos, and was best known for his first violin concerto, which is a staple of the violin repertory and one of the most popular Romantic violin concertos. His complex and unfailingly well-structured works, in the German Romantic musical tradition, placed him in the camp of Romantic classicism exemplified by Johannes Brahms, rather than the opposing "New Music" of Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner. In his time he was known primarily as a choral composer.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Bruch

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Salvatore Accardo (born 26 September 1941 in Turin, northern Italy) is an Italian violinist and conductor, who is known for his interpretations of the works of Niccolò Paganini. Accardo studied violin in Naples in the 1950s and gave his first professional recital at the age of 13. He was the first prize winner of the Paganini Competition and the first violinist to record all six of the violin concerti by Paganini. He has an extensive discography of almost 50 recordings on Philips, DG, EMI, Sony Classical, Foné, Dynamic, and Warner-Fonit. Accardo owns the "Hart ex Francescatti" (1727) and had the "Firebird ex Saint-Exupéry" (1718).

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

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