Kiril Kondrashin - Brahms: Violin Concerto

During the 1950s only the finest Soviet artists were allowed to leave their country and perform abroad, and it took much patience and negotiating skill on the part of recording companies in getting permission for Russian artists to make records in the west. One of these distinguished musicians was the violinist Leonid Kogan, who in the earlier part of his career lived in the shadow of an older colleague, the great violinist David Oistrakh. As time went on connoisseurs of violin playing perceived a different kind of greatness in Kogan's art. Whereas Oistrakh harked back to the old romantic school, Kogan represented a more modern, more pure, more classical style. The "Brahms Concerto" was one of Kogan's favorites, and although his performance was strongly communicative he played the work with the utmost fidelity and in a fashion which very much suggested that his way was the "right" way. We can hear these qualities very clearly in his recorded performance, made during 1959. Every tempo, every turn of phrase seems just as it should be, and the interpretation as a whole is profoundly satisfying. Another Russian artist, Kyril Kondrashin, is the conductor, and he shows, like Kogan, a particular ability to bring out that blend of romantic warmth and architectural, classical strength which is the hallmark of Brahms' inspiration. The performance is captured in a finely balanced, strikingly faithful quality of sound, and in their 180-gram LP reissue Testament have recaptured the characteristics of the original LP recording with impressive fidelity. The result is a reissue which is richly satisfying both in terms of fine sound quality and musical experience.