Nikolai Myaskovsky; Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Violin Concertos (Vadim Repin)

Information

Composer: Nikolai Myaskovsky; Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

1. Tchaikovsky - Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35: I. Allegro moderato
2. Tchaikovsky - Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35: II. Canzonetta
3. Tchaikovsky - Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35: III. Finale. Allegro vivacissimo
4. Myaskovsky - Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 44: I. Allegro
5. Myaskovsky - Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 44: II. Adagio e molto cantabile
6. Myaskovsky - Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 44: III. Allegro molto - Allegro scherzoso

Vadim Repin, violin
Kirov Orchestra
Valery Gergiev, conductor

Date: 2002
Label: Philips
http://www.deccaclassics.com/en/cat/4733432

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Review

A big violinistic personality, flamboyant in Tchaikovsky, perceptive and persuasive in Myaskovsky

I’ve always thought of Vadim Repin as among the most gifted of younger Russian-born violinists, even on the evidence of his earliest recordings (those for Erato). His first Tchaikovsky Concerto, for example, was notable for its tender, even tremulous tone, its sensitive phrasing and apt sentiment. Very occasionally one sensed that the subtler mechanics of Repin’s technique needed fine tuning, but listening to this remake under Valery Gergiev confirms just how far Repin has journeyed in a mere few years. Tone projection is stronger (admittedly the new recording accentuates the fact), attack more aggressive and Repin’s solo demeanour seems better focused than before, far more confident and spontaneous. 

Mixed in with these ‘improvements’ are one or two affectations, nothing too drastic but the sort that tend to work better in concert than on disc. Take the beginning of the finale, with its pregnant hesitations and splayed pizzicati. Fun? Yes. Durable? Possibly not. But it’s a cracking performance, one of the best from the younger generation, and dynamically accompanied under Gergiev, although the recording sounds like a digital update of the sort of blowsy in-your-face sonics typical of the first stereo recordings of the late 1950s. 

But it’s the coupling that really makes the disc a ‘must-have’. Myaskovsky’s Violin Concerto was written in just a few months during 1938 and premièred by David Oistrakh in Leningrad early in 1939. As with Tchaikovsky’s Concerto, the opening tutti plays for less than a minute and the slow movement is touchingly lyrical. The rather melancholy first movement is built on a grand scale and includes an expansive cadenza where Repin’s mastery is virtually the equal of Oistrakh’s (in one of his earliest recordings). It’s forceful music, epic in scale and earnestly argued, the sort of piece that Gergiev thrives on. Again, the up-front recording makes a powerful impact. If Repin’s subsequent records for Philips – and I hope there will be more – are as good as this one, we’ll have plenty to look forward to.

-- Rob Cowan, Gramophone

More reviews:
http://www.classicstoday.com/review/review-8796/
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2003/Apr03/repin_gergiev.htm
http://www.classicalcdreview.com/repin.html
http://www.allmusic.com/album/tchaikovsky-myaskovsky-violin-concertos-mw0001405693
http://www.amazon.com/Tchaikovsky-Myaskovsky-Concertos-Vadim-Repin/dp/B00006L77E

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Nikolai Myaskovsky (20 April [O.S. 8 April] 1881 – 8 August 1950) was a Russian and Soviet composer. He is sometimes referred to as the "Father of the Soviet Symphony". Myaskovsky wrote a total of 27 symphonies (plus three sinfoniettas, three concertos and works in other orchestral genres), 13 string quartets, 9 piano sonatas as well as many miniatures and vocal works. He is professor of composition at Moscow Conservatory from 1921 until his death, and há an important influence on his pupils. His students include big names such as  Aram Khachaturian, Dmitri Kabalevsky, Rodion Shchedrin and Boris Tchaikovsky.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Myaskovsky

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Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (25 April/7 May 1840 – 25 October/6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the romantic period who wrote some of the most popular music in the classical repertoire. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote many works that are popular with the classical music public, including his Romeo and Juliet, the 1812 Overture, three ballets, last three symphonies, the 1st Piano Concerto and the Violin Concerto. Despite his many popular successes, Tchaikovsky's life was punctuated by personal crises and depression.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyotr_Ilyich_Tchaikovsky

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Vadim Repin (born 31 August 1971 in Novosibirsk, Western Siberia) is a Russian-born Belgian violinist who lives in Vienna. He studied with Zakhar Bron, the famous violin teacher. At the age of 17, he became the youngest winner of violin section of the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition in Brussels. Repin specializes in Russian and French music, particularly the great Russian violin concertos, as well as 20th century and contemporary music. Repin was a recording artist of Erato and since 2005, DG. Yehudi Menuhin called him "simply the best and most perfect violinist that I have ever had the chance to hear".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vadim_Repin

http://www.vadimrepin.com/

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