Few violinists can even begin to approach Heifetz in the great Romantic showpieces for which he set formidable standards of technique, temperament, and taste. Henri Vieuxtemps’ Fourth and Fifth Concertos are not just vehicles for star fiddlers, they’re interesting works from the standpoint of form and orchestration whose four-movement game plans detoured from the three-movement concerto norm. Heifetz’s lightening runs and coiled lyricism in Franz Waxman’s Carmen Fantasy will give you as many goose bumps as the two Saint-Saëns works and Sarasate’s delicious, show-offy Zigeunerweisen. While the transfers don’t have the full dynamic range of RCA’s restorations from prime source material, Mark Obert-Thorn’s careful, honest remastering is as good as you can get from clean commercial 78 rpm pressings.
