Composer: Dmitri Shostakovich, Sergei Prokofiev
Performer: Viktoria Mullova
Orchestra: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Andre Previn
Audio CD
SPARS Code: DDD
Number of Discs: 1
Format: APE (image+cue)
Label: Philips
Size: 270 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Shostakovich – Violin Concerto No. 1 a-moll, Op. 99
1. Nocturne (Moderato)
2. Scherzo (Allegro)5
3. Passacaglia (Andante)
4. Burlesque (Allegro con brio – Presto)
Prokofiev – Violin Concerto No. 2 g-moll, Op. 63
5. Allegro moderato
6. Andante assai
7. Allegro, ben marcato
total commitment
These are edge-of-your-seat performances of these two concertos, with Mullova, forward but not too forward in the aural picture, bringing tremendous intensity to the music, while Previn and the RPO back her to the hilt. She convinces you as you listen that this is how this music has to go. Of the two concertos, the Shostakovich made the deepest impression on me — the soulful threnody of the opening movement is richly communicated, with an undertone of lament, and there seems to be a manic desperation in the passacaglia and finale, where the playing on the upper strings of the violin creates a sense of a spirit on the edge of order and sanity. The whole thing is riveting from start to finish. The emotional temperature in the Prokofiev seems a little cooler — this is an impression of the music, not a criticism of Mullova’s playing — and it seems there, for all the virtuosity and energy, that we are in the world of the dance. Again, it’s totally engaging, with the second movement taken without sentimentality at a good clip (andante assai), which makes the energy of the final movement seem even more amazing. (Mind you, I’m not going to part with my Prokofiev recordings by Jansen, Perlman [with Leinsdorf] or Chung!) I had been disappointed with Mullova’s live recording of the Brahms concerto with Abbado, which struck me as too tame and uninflected, so I’m glad to have found these accounts so inspiriting.