Brahms / Beethoven / Tchaikovsky / Lalo: Artist Profile

Record companies continue to baffle me . The endless regurgitation of old favourites in new budget or mid price labels yet these performances remain stuck in the vaults . This is a long deleted EMI issue now only available for ridiculous prices or at Arkiv music for a CD-R that won't necessarily play on all players.The splendid account of the Tchaikovsky with Silvestri ( who also made a great recording with Ferras) has reappeared on budget labels yet it is in many ways the least remarkable in this box.The other three recordings are standouts . The Beethoven concerto is quite magnificent . Silvestri and Kogan are a true partnership and the Larghetto is phrased with a beauty and simplicity that eludes all too many who leave it is a pretty interlude- this is up there with Menuhin and Furtwangler in 1947 .The Lalo sparkles as it should but with Kogan its musical virtues are stressed rather than it being played as a display vehicle for a soloist. The Spanish rhythms are idiomatic and this is an intensely exciting account .Perhaps topping it all is the Brahms - for all the wonderful records of the work that I have this is probably the first that comes close to dislodging my preference for Menuhin/Kempe . It is very different to that grand and thrilling performance and again excitement is the key . It is wonderful throughout but two points stand out . Firstly , when Kogan takes over from the oboe in the slow movement for once this is not a bit of an anticlimax but takes your breath away that he can play even more beautifully than that oboe tune and secondly, the finale - all too often this is treated as a simple gypsy romp to round the work off . Kogan is very exciting and there is plenty of romping but the little changes he makes to his tone are absolutely captivating and he makes this movement seem the true equal of the others .If you can find it cheapish snap it up- otherwise Warner Classics a KOGAN ICON box please !!

Kogan stayed within the iron curtain, and died prematurely in his 50s at the height of his powers. I first had all of these performances on vinyl when I was a schoolboy. His Beethoven violin concerto is one of the truly outstanding interpretations of this often over-egged classical violin concerto. His tone is fantastic, and the pace and space of his phrasing, in complete integration and rapport with the Paris Conservatoire under Silvestri, is so joyously Beethoven it makes one want to play it again and again. This and Isabelle Faust's version are all one needs for a truly beethovian Beethoven Concerto selection.The Brahms is also a top-notch performance which I come back to over and over; the Tchaikovsky is lovely and excitingly executed.He plays Lalo with total effortless virtuosic ease and silvery brilliance.But most of all, this is a beautiful collection of great performances from one of the finest and least well known of all the top rank violinists of the twentieth century.Please please re-issue this selection.

You now and again, albeit rarely, come across a recording of one of the old war horses which bowls you over. The Beethoven concerto on this disc had that effect on me. It is more rhapsodic than even Menuhin/ Furtwangler 1, everything sounds fresh as if played for the first time. Yes, Kogan's tone is noble but he has a devilish almost improvisatoric approach which leaves you unable to catch your breath. Silvestri is an outstanding partner - if his orchestra is a less famous band, they make up for it in their ability to support every inventive phrasing of their soloist. They apply a dark middle-european timbre which makes you think of the Czech Phil. The interpretation is superior to the much better-known Oistrakh/Cluytens.The Brahms has top billing and it is indeed a fine recording. However, Kondrashin is in this music not in the same league as Silvestri.The recording of the Beethoven deserves status of a classic.