Beethoven - Violin Concerto [Ughi/ Sawallisch-London Symphony Orchestra]
However much this is a great work, and quite possibly the greatest Violin Concerto ever written, and the very heart of the central repertoire, for me it's actually near the top, probably just out of the top ten, it's very good rather than great, also it's a work which i haven't spent oodles of time really getting to know, i've probably heard this work maybe thirty times, that's really low for such a work of this magnitude, but there you have it, that's my relationship with Beethoven's Op61, in saying all of that, i do notice an uptick in my appreciation of this piece, it is getting into my heart, i am understanding it more, this disc helped me today, this is the first time i've ever given this disc a spin, it's hard to judge it against the competition.
Uto Ughi is Italian, he's now 71, this is a disc recorded back in 1981, the photography on the front and back is excellent [by Clive Barda], there's a certain soft glow about the portraits, i just love the RCA logo, really colourful.
Like i said, this is my first listen of this disc, and it was the first movement that got to me the most, here it's almost 24 minutes long, the opening timpani beats sound fast, but the orchestra sound right, it's a long orchestral introduction [0:00-3:13], Ughi has a sweet tone, up front, but not overly, the solo violin music naturally sounds very much like exercises rather than tunes, a vehicle to practise technique, rather than wow people with pure music, and yet there's lots of good things in there, the music does seem to go round and round, and of course at 24 minutes can be a bit daunting to listen to, especially if it doesn't have a superb tune, and one part of the movement is harder to define where you're at than another part, Ughi uses the cadenza by Kreisler [19:15-22:39], very well done, the ending is done with aplomb.
Here's Ughi playing the Concerto on YouTube.
Uto Ughi is Italian, he's now 71, this is a disc recorded back in 1981, the photography on the front and back is excellent [by Clive Barda], there's a certain soft glow about the portraits, i just love the RCA logo, really colourful.
Like i said, this is my first listen of this disc, and it was the first movement that got to me the most, here it's almost 24 minutes long, the opening timpani beats sound fast, but the orchestra sound right, it's a long orchestral introduction [0:00-3:13], Ughi has a sweet tone, up front, but not overly, the solo violin music naturally sounds very much like exercises rather than tunes, a vehicle to practise technique, rather than wow people with pure music, and yet there's lots of good things in there, the music does seem to go round and round, and of course at 24 minutes can be a bit daunting to listen to, especially if it doesn't have a superb tune, and one part of the movement is harder to define where you're at than another part, Ughi uses the cadenza by Kreisler [19:15-22:39], very well done, the ending is done with aplomb.
Here's Ughi playing the Concerto on YouTube.
