Nikolaj Znaider has a lovely, singing tone and prefers long-breathed, legato phrasing even in virtuoso passage-work. His ability to play quick passages in double-stops so sweetly, and to phrase them as genuine melodies, makes music out of long passages in the Korngold that sometimes comes across as empty virtuosity. Consider the long first-movement cadenza, or the opening measures of the finale; combined with Gergiev’s warmly flexible accompaniment, the result is one of the finest recordings of the Korngold currently available, no doubt about it.
The same qualities that work so well in the Korngold prove nearly lethal in the Brahms. For some reason, tempos have been slowing down in this piece over the past few decades. Znaider takes almost 24 minutes over the first movement; compare this to Milstein (19) or Oistrakh (22, with Klemperer no less). But the difference has less to with tempo than with firmness of rhythm. Znaider’s persistent smoothness, so effective in preventing that “hack and chop” sound in Korngold, turns Brahms bland. The slow movement is beautiful, but the finale comes off as much slower than it really is owing to a terminal lack of incisiveness. So this is worth hearing for the Korngold, but as a total offering this glass is only half full.
