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Violin Concertos

Could you recommend the best violin concerto recordings (performance & sound quality) you have ever heard by the following composers-Dvorak, Beethoven, Paganini, Mendelssohn, and Saint-Saens. Also, if there is any chinese audiophile on this forum, please recommed violin concerto Liang-Zhu (Butterfly Lovers). To me this is one of the most beautiful violin concerto, but I haven't seen any famous violinist recorded it. I have two copies, one by Yu Li-na, one by Sheng Zhong-guo. None of the sound quality is good.
aliu
twl
3,251 posts
 
If you don't mind, I'd like to recommend another composer. I think that the Khachaturian Violin Concerto with Henryk Szering in violin, on Mercury Living Presence, is the best violin concerto I've ever heard. The gypsy flavor and emotional impact of this piece makes it my all time favorite violin concerto. Szering plays masterfully. Recording is top-notch. I know some consider Khachaturian to be a second-rate composer, but I really like this piece.
kweifi
46 posts
 
There are many good recordings of the major violin concertos: I like Stern in the Dvorak, there are many for the Beethoven, I like Michael Rabin in the Paganini 1st, etc. For the "Butterfly Lovers" there was a recording put out by Hong Kong (HK-1003) with Takako Nishizaki as soloist. It won the Hong Kong Gold Disc Award in 1981. The sound quality is good. Nishizaki is a very fine violinist who was "tied for first place" with Pinchas Zuckerman for the Leventritt Award in 1964.
kweifi
46 posts
 
I meant to add some other concerti as well: I have always enjoyed the Mozart concerti (there is a pretty good low price set available with Arthur Grumiaux playing); there are the two Bruch Concerti (actually one is the Scottish Fantasy) with Heifetz; Heifetz' recording of the Prokofieff and the Sibelius are memorable; I also like the Brahms with Christian Ferras; the Bach concerti with Oistrakh, and the Wieniawski D minor with Rabin.
unsound
7,329 posts
 
I hope you don't mind me suggesting a different composer. I just love this recording: BACH. VIOLIN CONCERTOS.DOUBLE CONCERTOS.GRUMIAUX HOLLIGER.KREBBERS/ PHILIPS 420 700-2
rushton's avatar
rushton
2,445 posts
 
For the composers you list, here are performances with good sound quality that I enjoy...

Beethoven -
Giulini/CSO, Perlman -vn, EMI
Munch/BSO, Heifitz -vn, RCA (Classic Records reissue)

Mendelsohn -
Munch/BSO, Heifetz -vn, RCA (Classic Records reissue)

Paganini -
Foster/RPO, Perlman -vn, EMI

Saint-Saens -
Foster/LSO, Chung -vn, Decca/London

Tchaikovsky -
Wallenstein/LSO, Perlman -vn, Chesky reissue
Reiner/CSO, Heifetz -vn, RCA (Classic Records reissue)
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