Search - Khachaturian, Perlman, Mehta :: Violin Concerto

As good as its reputation, but beware of short TT

Discophage | France | 07/28/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'm always wary of "cult versions", because oftentimes, when I finally come around to hearing them, especially after much comparative listening, I am disappointed: I find that their merits have been much exaggerated.



So I was guarded as I approached this famous recording of Khachaturian's Violin Concerto by Perlman and Mehta, made in 1984, all the more so after having repeatedly heard the historical composer-conducted versions - two with the dedicatee and premiere performer David Oistrakh (the first in 1954 with the London Philharmonia, Aram Khachaturian: Masquerade; Gayaneh; Violin Concerto, and a Melodiya stereo remake from 1965, which I have on a Chant du Monde CD not listed here, but it is the same recording I think that is on Sibelius: Concerto Op47; Franck: Sonata for violin in A) and one with Leonid Kogan from 1951, Khachaturian: Concerto for violin / Concerto - Rhapsody for violin & Orchestra, which I think is (Russian Revelation's product info is scanty) the studio recording originally recorded for Melodiya.



More precisely, I expected from Perlman and Mehta a lush but broadened and mellowed approach that ultimately would sentimentalize the music and rob it of its searing passion, in keeping with a trend which has often been observed in the history of recording: compare for instance the urgency that Heifetz brought to Sibelius' Violin Concerto or to Prokofiev's 2nd in his recordings from the mid 1930s, Heifetz Plays Strauss (Violin Sonata op. 18), Sibelius (Violin Concerto), Prokofiev (Violin Concerto 2) (and even more in his stereo remakes from the late 1950s, Sibelius, Prokofiev, Glazunov: Violin Concertos [Hybrid SACD]), to, well, just about any recoding made from the 1960s to today. In Khachaturian's Violin Concerto such an evolution can be observed even with the composer and Oistrakh: while their 1954 version (and the same is true with the composer's 1951 recording with Kogan, very similar in approach) is urgent and full of bite, never milking the lyricism and thus making it all the more searing, a (granted, very moderate) broadening and relaxing can be observed in 1965. Add to that that I consider Perlman an heir (in plump sonority and lushness) to Oistrakh, and I don't view Mehta as conductor of the Toscanini vein, particularly keen on snap and forward-moving energy.



Well, all wrong. If anything, Perlman and Mehta are even more urgent and explosive than Kogan-Oistrakh and Khachaturian, and like them, never at the expense of beautiful tonal control. True, Perlman relaxes slightly more in the more lyrical moments of the first movement, but that is fine, and he makes up in added dash in the faster sections. Their second movement has plenty of lyricism and passion. Their finale has irresistible sweep (and they don't make the small cut that, who knows why, Oistrakh exercises). Like Oistrakh, Perlman in the first movement plays not the printed cadenza but his own.



Any reservations? Well, if you really push me, the brass interjections at the beginning of the slow movement aren't staccato enough, in the same movement the clarinet enters half a beat too early at 9:55 (Perlman easily makes it up) and shortly after, the big climax at 10:22 lacks a degree of unleashed power and passion, because the two solo trumpets aren't given full due. No big deal. A more serious consideration may be that the complement of Tchaikovsky's Meditation (in Glazunov's orchestration), direct from the LP, makes for a shamefully short CD (45 minutes) - and, in my opinion, without providing a very substantial dessert. In 1984 the CD was already into being, but obviously EMI wasn't aware of it back then. They should consider a reissue with Sibelius' or Bartok's VC (Previn conducting). Note that Khachaturian is also now available in a 4-CD set, The Art Of Itzhak Perlman, or the 20-CD set Itzhak Perlman Collection [Box Set].



So, yes, this remains today a stereo version of choice, one (considerations of timing apart) you can consider if you have only one, even ahead of Oistrakh's 1965 remake - but Aaron Rosand's 1999 recording with as improbable as the Malaysian Philharmonic under Kees Bakels is also a worthy contender (Sibelius, Khachaturian: Violin Concertos), plus it has Sibelius as a more substantial pairing (in a reading that isn't top contender though), and so is Valentin Klimov with Svetlanov on Olympia if you can find it (a recording from 1981, not listed here, but you can find it on the UK sister company under ASIN B000027Q3W), with the great if unexpected - and possibly forbidding for some - coupling of Schoenberg's Violin Concerto. And if you can, complete your stereo version (or, better, versions) with Oistrakh 1954 and/or Kogan 1951 with the composer.

"

Contrived and schmaltzy, but still lots of fun!

Joe Anthony (a.k.a. JAG 1) | Massachusetts, USA | 01/27/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Aram Khachaturian may not have been a great composer in the sense that Beethoven or Mozart were great; he may not even rank in the top 100; but he certainly is a great composer to have fun with. Khachaturian was a Soviet composer like Prokofiev and Shostakovich. Though Khachaturian's music lacks the depth, sincere feeling and craftsmanship of Prokofiev or Shostakovich, he manages to somewhat compensate by using slashing effects and exotic Armenian-flavored passages (Khachaturian was of Armenian descent). Sometimes, Khachaturian really goes over top (as in his Symphony #3 or the "Gayne" Suite).



This Violin Concerto maintains a shiny aura of glowing brass and soaring strings. Throughout the concerto there is Khachaturian's Armenian strand creating somewhat of a rhapsodorical effect. There is no Violin Concerto quite like it. Even though it is a so-called "modern" or twentieth century piece of music; it is entirely tonal and contains melodies that one can grab on too. It is not at all like Bartok or even Hovhaness whose modern but folk flavored works are much more deep and esoteric with the folk forms imbeded within an elaborately created tapestry.



No, Khachaturian is not that profound. While his Violin Concerto may not be on as high an intellectual plane as Bartok or Hovhaness, it is still good fun for the listener that wants to hear straight forward exotica-exotica more on a plane with Martin Denny or Les Brown. It is crass, overblown, cheap, even tacky, but compelling in its sheer audacity. And aside from the Beethoven or Brahms Violin Concerto, I'd listen to the Khachaturian Concerto as soon as I'd listen to any others.



As for the performance: Itzhak Perlman is wonderful as he brings ourt every morsal of sparkle and color; Zubin Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic provide enthusiastic support. This concerto has also been transcribed for flute and was recorded by James Galway and others.



If you like the ethnic flavor of Bartok, Hovhaness and Enesco; and the Soviet era music of Prokofiev and Shostakovich; and you don't mind music that can sound a bit contrived and schmaltzy; and if like a good dose of exotica-then you will certainly like this concerto and other works by Aram Khachaturian."