Another Ebay disc, i've never seen this disc on Ebay before or since, and i glad i snapped it up while it was going, the only thing wrong about this disc is the fact that it doesn't include any other music, so just 40 minutes of music on one disc, only half filled!, Brahms's Violin Concerto is a basic staple of my Compact Disc collection, there was a time when i would have said that it's my favourite Violin Concerto, but that's been eclipsed by Lalo, Sibelius, Bruch, and Mendelssohn to name but four, there's no denying that it's a big 'stodgy' Concerto very much like the Beethoven, which is one of the reasons that i don't look upon the Beethoven as truly great, also it's in D Major, an 'easy' key for the violin, and maybe not reaching into uncharted territory, and doing some surprising things [though of course Brahms especially made this Concerto very difficult].
Uto Ughi is Italian, he is now 68, and also is a Conductor, he recorded this disc in 1983, the front cover photograph is excellent, a duo portrait of the two Artists, upper body shots, another warm glow photo, very much couched in orange, interesting attire, and a background which might seem cluttered, but i find it interesting and even apt.
The movement that i found most compelling was the first, it's massive, over half the Concerto long, and i can see how Brahms based his Concerto on the Beethoven, it's in the same key of course [D Major], and the structure of the three movements with a huge first movement dwarfing the others, .
Here's on Julia Fischer playing the first movement on YouTube, with Michael Tilson Thomas conducting.
