Latica Honda-Rosenberg was the Second Prize winner in the 1998 Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow, the first German ever to reach the finals. What must have impressed the judges is her remarkably mature musicianship and deep insight for one so young, combined with a full, confident tone. While her Shostakovich doesn’t have that perfect combination of bleakness and beauty that characterizes Oistrakh’s performance on Le Chant du Monde (to be fair, no one else’s does either), Honda-Rosenberg’s fearlessness in looking the work dead-in-the-eye pays off in the desperately searching passages of the first movement, the mighty extended third movement cadenza, and the rapid-fire bravura runs of the finale.
The Tchaikovsky finds the violinist not so much turning on a dime as tempering her stern beauty with a 19th century grace that suits this music. Honda-Rosenberg lays on the warmth for the first movement’s singing theme, then skips around its subsidiary material with a delightful agility. Her cadenza aims at Perlman’s level of virtuoso display, lacking that more experienced performer’s worldly élan. In line with current practice, Honda-Rosenberg includes all the repeats in her electric but not breathless rendition of the whirlwind finale. Lior Shombadal and the RTV Slovenia Symphony function as more than mere backdrop, making a significant musical contribution to the proceedings (the way the composers intended). The recording balances soloists and orchestra more realistically than usual today. At Arte Nova’s budget price, there’s little reason not to sample this enjoyable release.
