1.01. Karel Szymanowski - Violin Concerto No.1, op.35 [24'09]
1.02. - 1.04. Bela Bartok - Violin Concerto No.2, Sz.112 [38'09]
Xiao-Dong Wang- violin, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra conducted by Omri Hadari
2.01 - 2.03. Frank Martin - Violin Concerto [30'41]
2.04. - 2.06. Darius Milhaud - Violin Concerto No. 2, op.263 [26'07]
2.07. - 2.09. Samuel Barber - Violin Concerto, op.14 [23'08]
Dene Olding- violin, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra conducted by Hiroyuki Iwaki
ABC Classics 4764333 [recorded December 1988 [1] and May 1990 [2]; digital download released 2011]
[digital download; flacs, booklet and cover scans]
Recording venues: Adelaide Town Hall [1] & Robert Blackwood Hall, Monash University, Victoria [2]Recording engineers: Graham Milne [1] and Jim Atkins [1 & 2]; Producer: Maria Vandamme [1 & 2]
This twofer release combines two separate CDs first issued in 1989 and 1991 respectively. My primary interest was in the second disc featuring two less well-known concertos plus the popular Barber concerto and benefiting from the performances by the superb first violin of the Goldner Quartet, Dene Olding. At the time of recording there were probably only one or two other recordings of the Frank Martin Concerto available and none of the Milhaud.
Even the Barber Concerto had few major recordings available at that time - only Isaac Stern's from 1964 comes to mind. Of course, there is now boundless competition in the Barber at least - but if you like a less-overtly romantic and emotional approach, then you will probably appreciate this performance very much.
Even today, there are few recordings of the Frank Martin and Milhaud Concertos. Olding at first seems to be underplaying the rather dark Martin concerto but this disappears in the later movements where he gives full rein to the triumphant, if elegiac, finale. Olding rejoices in the extrovert Second Violin Concerto by Milhaud in which commentators have noted similarities in style to the Walton concerto - but I can't say that I have noticed that. The Melbourne Symphony under it's then long time chief conductor, the Japanese Hiroyuki Iwaki, give excellent support throughout this, at the time, unfamiliar music.
The booklet notes say nothing about the Chinese violinist Xiao-Dong Wang and online I could only ascertain that he is, or was, a violin associate (whatever that may be) with New York's Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Although little known, he is an excellent player and this Bartok Second Concerto is very fine. His tone is fairly light and his is a fairly romantic approach. He gets excellent support from the Adelaide Symphony under Israeli conductor, Omri Hadari.
For those primarily interested in the Barber concerto, here is the "classic" recording by Isaac Stern and Leonard Bernstein coupled with John Browning's equally "classic" recording of the Piano Concerto with George Szell and Yo-Yo Ma's fine performance of the less well-known Cello Concerto.
01. - 03. Violin Concerto, op.14 * [22'34]
04. - 06. Cello Concerto, op.22 ^ [26'40]
07. - 09. Piano Concerto, op.38 # [25'43]
Isaac Stern- violin, New York Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Leonard Bernstein*; Yo-Yo Ma- cello, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra conducted by David Zinman^; John Browning- piano, Cleveland Orchestra conducted by George Szell#
Sony SMK 89751 [recorded April 1964*, 1988^, January 1964#; CD issued 2001]
[CD-rip; flacs, booklet, cover and inlay scans]
Recording venues: Manhattan Center, New York*, Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, Baltimore^, Severance Hall, Cleveland#; Recording engineers: Not disclosed*# and John Newton^ ;
Producers: John McClure*, James Mallison^ and Paul Myers#
If you like Dene Olding's approach to the Barber Violin Concerto as much as I do, you probably won't be all that keen on Stern's - and vice versa.
The accompanying booklet has a good note about the music by Julian Haylock but says nothing at all about the artists nor gives any discographic information. So the above data is what I was able to glean from the internet. At least Stern and Ma get their pictures in the booklet, but it seems that John Browning must not have been photogenic enough for the publisher.