Oistrakh fans no doubt will own this legendary recording of the Hindemith Violin Concerto, which is making its third appearance on CD, this time paired with its original LP partner, Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy. Along with the Stern/Bernstein recording on Sony, Oistrakh’s version (playing under the composer’s baton) is one of the classic accounts of this inventive work and it is good to see it again, even though it’s also currently available in Decca’s Australian Eloquence series. Sound quality has not improved much beyond these other versions (despite the 96/24 digital transfer), except for the intrusion of slightly more tape hiss.
This two-disc set also includes the Oistrakhs (father and son Igor) in their rousing 1963 version of Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante under Kirill Kondrashin and the Moscow Philharmonic. As on their later, slightly faster 1972 recording with the Berlin Philharmonic (on EMI), Oistrakh senior plays the viola part with amazing dexterity–but as a whole, the EMI version remains the favorite (and probably the best-ever recording of the work), thanks to the consummate orchestral accompaniment from the Berlin forces. By contrast, their Russian counterparts sound rough-edged and earthy. Mozart’s charming Duo for Violin and Viola in G major (also on the original LP with the Sinfonia) graces this generous (if incongruous) compilation that no Oistrakh devotee will want to be without.
