These are middling accounts of Prokofiev’s two concertos. Graf Mourja’s straightforward approach presents the music plainly, without any untoward intervention but without much distinction either. He’s certainly an accomplished violinist, playing with laudable technical finesse while imparting a noticeable degree of tenderness. His tone becomes silken while spinning out the serene song of Concerto No. 1’s first movement and the lovely lyricism of No. 2’s Andante. But there’s also an acidic quality to this music that Mourja mostly misses. Take No. 1’s second movement, where Mourja’s gentle approach all but smooths away the music’s rough-hewn character–the complete opposite of Leila Josefowicz’s scrappy fiddling that vividly projects the rustic dance. Mourja’s too soft-edged in No. 2’s finale as well, and the lumbering slow tempo, whether initiated by Mourja or conductor Vladimir Ponkin, doesn’t help matters much.
The Tchaikovsky Symphony provides sufficiently supportive accompaniments, and the recorded sound sensibly balances all constituents. Okay, so overall it’s a decent disc; but when you consider the exceptionally fine concerto performances by Heifetz (No. 2), Mintz, Lin, and the recently released Josefowicz, there’s not a whole lot going on here that compels you to make this one a priority acquisition.
