Composer: Felix Mendelssohn, Ludwig van Beethoven
Performer: Nikolaj Znaider
Orchestra: Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Zubin Mehta
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: RCA
Catalogue: 82876692172
Release: 2005
Size: 315 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64
01. I. Allegro molto appassionato
02. II. Andante
03. III. Allegretto non troppo – Allegro molto vivace
Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61
04. I. Allegro ma non troppo
05. II. Larghetto
06. III. Rondo: Allegro
…Nikolaj Znaider’s performance of the Mendelssohn is special… Znaider has all the winning attributes from a violinistic point of view: superb agility, a persuasively sweet tone when appropriate, but with a fine range of colour sensitively applied. But what persuades me most is how much he seems to identify with this work as a unified, intensely felt Romantic drama. Each change of mood is an event, and yet contrast is never, ever exaggerated.
Nikolaj Znaider’s high-calibre artistry is tellingly exemplified by the second subject of Mendelssohn’s first movement (3’09” into track 1) where the rise and fall of the phrasing, its yielding plasticity, realises every vestige of lyricism inherent in the music. …Znaider views the Beethoven Concerto as the violin repertoire’s ‘bible’. The slow movement is as beautifully played as any I’ve heard in recent years, warm and serene but never precious. Mehta again proves a considerate accompanist and the sound is well balanced.