Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D, Serenade melancolique, Bruch: Scottish Fantasy.(Sound Recording Review)

Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D; Serenade melancolique; Bruch: Scottish Fantasy. Arthur Grumiaux, violin; Jan Krenz and Heinz Wallberg, New Philharmonia Orchestra. PentaTone Classics SACD 5186-117.

I have always thought of Arthur Grumiaux as a rather sedate violinist, a refined and cultured gentleman seldom given to flights of fancy or overt showmanship. Thusly does his 1975 recording of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto strike me, a classic example of allowing the music to speak for itself. For comparisons, I had on hand two other skilled exponents of the bow whom I highly admire, Perlman and Heifetz, both of whom are more outwardly showy and energetic in the work. Well, there's no denying that Tchaikovsky requires both technical virtuosity and a strong degree of passion, and I don't mean to imply that Grumiaux hasn't qualifications in either department. There is emotion in every note he plays. It's just that his appears to be a more effortless passion than the others display. Perhaps the man's relaxed and sensitive approach to music making is even better expressed in the disc's companion piece, the Bruch Scottish Fantasy, where Grumiaux allows the often-lyrical and rhapsodic folk tunes literally to soar.

The sound, recorded originally in four channels but heretofore available only in two-channel stereo, is, like the performances, laid-back, warm, and slightly soft in its two-channel presentation. This was especially apparent in the comparisons, the Perlman on a Chesky gold remastering, the Heifetz on one of JVC's XRCDs. Both Perlman and Heifetz ...