As the booklet rightly states‚ collectors who began at the dawn of the mono LP era (ah me!)‚ now recall the Westminster label – issued in the UK by Nixa – with affection‚ and‚ with the coming of stereo‚ their roster boasted some starry names including Hermann Scherchen. One of the other conductors was Artur Rodzinski and in September 1956 he was joined by the Viennese violinist‚ Erica Morini to record these two concertos with the RPO in Walthamstow. The surprise is now to discover that both recordings were (splendidly) engineered by DG. Morini’s inspirational account of the Brahms Concerto is among the finest on disc‚ often ravishing the ear with very gentle playing (especially in the Adagio). Her timbre is slender‚ and yet there is also a sinewy strength and the finale dances away with splendid vigour. The Tchaikovsky performance has a comparable warmth and simplicity (I am reminded of Ida Haendel’s early Decca set available from Dutton‚ 7/99). The slow movement is exquisite‚ and the finale has great spirit. Rodzinski’s accompaniment is a true partnership‚ and in the finale soloist and orchestra sparkle with Russian dance­like exhilaration‚ yet capture fully the folksy quality of the secondary material‚ with some lovely woodwind playing from the RPO. These performances are very much worth reissuing and give great pleasure‚ particularly when the recording‚ splendidly retransferred‚ hardly sounds its age at all.