Lalo - Symphonie Espagnole [Perlman/ Previn-London Symphony Orchestra]Itzhak Perlman, born in Tel Aviv [now Israel], but an American citizen, he's 64 years old [younger than i thought], and arguably the worlds greatest living Violinist!, he can play so fast, with perfect intonation, and a degree of swagger and insouciance to boot!, he's my favourite living Violinist.
I bought this disc on Ebay, i like the bright shirt on the booklet, it really stands out!, i think it's a great shot of Perlman by Bette Marshall, plus these are endearing recordings, i haven't had this disc long, and therefore i haven't played it much, but i feel that it will become a treasured disc in my collection over the years.
I was mightily impressed with the opening movement, the whole thing of course has a Spanish flavour to it, full of virtuoso playing for the soloist, a real showpiece, it's a real traditional 'Violin v Orchestra' Concerto, the two are pitted against each other, or maybe more to the point they truly create something as a team, the whole movement is so full of good things, it's hard to pinpoint some passage truly inspired above every other, but there is this passage bang in the middle [3:30-4:02], which has some fantastic stuff in it, the violin is playing at a high virtuosity, and i love the short oboe phrase in the background [3:41-3:44], a delight, the whole Concerto has these moments of flair, it's a wonder why Lalo isn't a greater Composer.
Here's Leonidas Kovakos playing the first movement on YouTube.
