Editorial Review:

The Sibelius Violin Concerto was a David Oistrakh specialty. He brought to it a personal warmth and poetry, and he made the most of what critics call Sibelius's "Russian melancholy," which is the term applied to Russian music when it sounds most Finnish. But seriously, the great Finnish composer was a strong admirer of Tchaikovsky, whose Violin Concerto was another Oistrakh specialty. Eugene Ormandy's Sibelius credentials were similarly well established at the time that this great recording was made. At a budget price, with a terrific Beethoven Violin Concerto tossed in, you'd have to be nuts not to want to hear it. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0

two classics for the ages:

I have this version of Beethoven's Violin Concerto by Francescatti and Walter on an early Odyssey CD which is not even listed on this website. And surely Beethoven's VC is too short for a CD, so it is good that Sony has reissued it with a coupling, although it is curious that they chose Oistrakh and Ormandy's Sibelius (which I have in a previous outing, on Sony's Masterworks Portrait series, coherently paired with Tchaikovsky by the same forces, Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D Major / Sibelius: Violin... more info

Not my favorite Oistrakh-Sibelius:

I first heard Heifetz's version of the Sibelius, and thought it interesting. Then I heard Oistrakh's, and there came a moment when I realized that this was one of the most gorgeous things I'd heard recently. After a while, I began to resent the balance between the orchestra and the violin, in Ormandy's version; the orchestra is too high and the violin cannot be heard as it should. I put up with this defect, struggling to hear the violin, till one day I bought the Historic Russian set of Oistrakh's... more info

You Can't Go Wrong With This One:

There is heavy competition in the Beethoven. The previous generation of violinists produced a slew of great recordings, and the violinists of the current generation are no slouches either.
Zino Franscescatti was a very elegant violinist. Always tasteful and usually quite restrained. But he evidently fell under the spell of Bruno Walter here and produced a wonderfully warm and earthy version of the Beethoven. The audio press has been so busy going ga ga over the Heifitz version that the Francescatti has... more info

Pleased with Purchase:

David Oistrakh plays the Sibelius as if he is in constant battle with the orchestra, putting himself in technical danger all the way through, and giving true desperation to an already magical peice of music.
If you love this concerto as I do, then you should own a copy of the heroic Oistrakh right next to your sinister Heifetz!
I was very pleased with the francescatti violin in the Beethoven concerto. I found myself whistling along with him (which doesn't happen often enough these days)and in a... more info

Tracks:

1. Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61: I. Allegro ma non troppo
2. Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61: II. Larghetto
3. Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61: III. Rondo. Allegro
4. Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47: I. Allegro moderato
5. Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47: II. Adagio di molto
6. Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47: III. Allegro, ma non tanto

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