Search - Ludwig van Beethoven, Edouard Lalo, Ernest Chausson :: Jascha Heifetz: The Unpublished Recordings

The inimitable Heifetz recorded other versions of these works, but it's hard to understand why this set remained unpublished. Perhaps minor blemishes, such as the slight tonal roughness at the start of Beethoven's G Major Romance and the shrill engineering of the Chausson Poème, consigned them to the storage vaults. Now that we can hear them, though, they can't fail to satisfy, especially since they're sufficiently different from the published recordings to fascinate connoisseurs. The Beethoven Romances, for example, are more flexible with the Philharmonia than in the later American recording. And the Lalo Symphonie espagnole, missing its Intermezzo in keeping with the custom of the time, is also more relaxed than Heifetz's American version. The Chausson is gorgeous as well, benefiting from Monteux's stylish accompaniment. It dates from 1945 and sounds it, but the others, from 1950, come up fresh and vibrant, with Heifetz's golden tone intact. --Dan Davis