Document

  1985
    July 1985
        Chamber Music
                Beethoven Violin Sonatas.

Beethoven Violin Sonata—No. 1 in D No. 1, Op. 12. Violin Sonata—No. 2 in A No. 2, Op. 12. Violin Sonata—No. 3 in E flat No. 3, Op. 12. Violin Sonata—No. 4 in A minor, Op. 23. Violin Sonata—No. 5 in F, Op. 24, "Spring". Violin Sonata—No. 6 in A No. 1, Op. 30. Violin Sonata—No. 7 in C minor No. 2, Op. 30. Violin Sonata—No. 8 in G No. 3, Op. 30. Violin Sonata—No. 9 in A, Op. 47, "Kreutzer". Violin Sonata—No. 10 in Gr, Op. 96. David Oistrakh (vn) Lev Oborin (pf).

Philips (Full price) (CD) 412 570-2PH4 (four discs, nas). Digitally remastered from SAL3416/20 (5/63).

The great Russian violinist David Oistrakh and his partner Lev Oborin (who, as well as being a distinguished ensemble player, gave the first performance of Khachaturian's Piano Concerto and numbered Ashkenazy among his pupils) were born within a year of each other (in 1908 and 1907, respectively) and both died in 1974. Their complete recording of the Beethoven sonatas for violin and piano was made by Le Chant du Monde in Paris in 1962 and issued in this country by Philips in 1963 on five LPs (mono and stereo) available separately and with the ten works paired arbitrarily (1 and 8; 2 and 10; 3 and 7; 4 and 9; 5 and 6). It is now reissued on four CDs, not available separately but with the sonatas in chronological sequence, which is obviously a more satisfactory arrangement for a complete set.

The performances are very fine indeed, capturing not only the drama of the C minor (Op. 30 No. 2) and the bravura of the Kreutzer (Op. 47), but also the lyrical sweetness of the Spring (Op. 24) and the G major (Op. 96). Roger Fiske, to whose detailed review of the original issue I would refer the serious collector, found some "fast" movements on the slow side, and in the case of the Andante piu tosto allegretto of Op. 12 No. 2, the Presto of Op. 23, the Tempo di Menuetto of Op. 30 No. 3, and the Allegro moderato of Op. 96, I would agree, though for me this does not imply a criticism. The most extreme example is, perhaps, the Tempo di Menuetto in Op. 30 No. 3, which here plays for 9u minutes; but Beethoven qualified his directions by adding the words ma molto moderato e grazioso, and in the skilled and sensitive hands of Oistrakh and Oborin, with their keen rhythmic sense, the admittedly slow tempo works. This characteristic is typical of the interpretations as a whole, which are notable for their eloquence, intellectual concentration, strength and authority—if not always for their sense of humour (e.g. the Scherzo of Op. 24). The performance of the Kreutzer is, rightly, the high point of a magnificent set which makes a most welcome return to the catalogue.

The recording, which places the violin very definitely to the left of the piano, sounds—apart from a barely audible tape noise in 'silent' moments—astonishingly fresh and vivid, and any suggestion of the violin being occasionally swamped by the piano (which RF noticed in the original mono recording) has vanished completely.

RG



		The great Russian violinist David Oistrakh and his partner Lev Oborin (who, as well as being a distinguished ensemble player, gave the first performance of Khachaturian's Piano Concerto and numbered Ashkenazy among his pupils) were born within a year of each other (in 1908 and 1907, respectively) and both died in 1974. Their complete recording of the Beethoven sonatas for violin and piano was made by Le Chant du Monde in Paris in 1962 and issued in this country by Philips in 1963 on five LPs (mono and stereo) available separately and with the ten works paired arbitrarily (1 and 8; 2 and 10; 3 and 7; 4 and 9; 5 and 6). It is now reissued on four CDs, not available separately but with the sonatas in chronological sequence, which is obviously a more satisfactory arrangement for a complete set.



		The performances are very fine indeed, capturing not only the drama of the C minor (Op. 30 No. 2) and the bravura of the Kreutzer (Op. 47), but also the lyrical sweetness of the Spring (Op. 24) and the G major (Op. 96). Roger Fiske, to whose detailed review of the original issue I would refer the serious collector, found some "fast" movements on the slow side, and in the case of the Andante piu tosto allegretto of Op. 12 No. 2, the Presto of Op. 23, the Tempo di Menuetto of Op. 30 No. 3, and the Allegro moderato of Op. 96, I would agree, though for me this does not imply a criticism. The most extreme example is, perhaps, the Tempo di Menuetto in Op. 30 No. 3, which here plays for 9u minutes; but Beethoven qualified his directions by adding the words ma molto moderato e grazioso, and in the skilled and sensitive hands of Oistrakh and Oborin, with their keen rhythmic sense, the admittedly slow tempo works. This characteristic is typical of the interpretations as a whole, which are notable for their eloquence, intellectual concentration, strength and authority—if not always for their sense of humour (e.g. the Scherzo of Op. 24). The performance of the Kreutzer is, rightly, the high point of a magnificent set which makes a most welcome return to the catalogue.



		The recording, which places the violin very definitely to the left of the piano, sounds—apart from a barely audible tape noise in 'silent' moments—astonishingly fresh and vivid, and any suggestion of the violin being occasionally swamped by the piano (which RF noticed in the original mono recording) has vanished completely.