I have suggested in previous reviews that Heifetz was a warmer, more spontaneous artist in pre-war years than in the later phase of his career. All these performances show not only his fabulous virtuosity, but also plenty of emotional involvement. His recording of the Sibelius Concerto was the first ever, and many judges feel it to be unsurpassed. Clearly Beecham and Heifetz on this occasion inspired each other to great heights of eloquence and dramatic strength. The Glazunov account is extraordinarily beautiful, with Heifetz and Barbirolli conveying to perfection the work's lyrical charm. In the Tchaikovsky the solo playing is again both brilliant and heartfelt, with Barbirolli a strong, characterful partner.
It was only five years ago that EMI transferred the Glazunov and Tchaikovsky performances as part of a two-LP set featuring the Heifetz/Barbirolli collaboration (10/87—nla). Those transfers were very good, and in the Tchaikovsky much better than on this new issue where for some reason the solo violin sound and the upper orchestral strings at times acquire an unacceptable degree of distortion. There is also some distortion in the second movement of the Glazunov, but this is common to all three transfers I have heard, and must therefore be a fault in the original recording. The transfer of the Sibelius is very clear, but somewhat hard.
I rather feel that the poor sound of the Tchaikovsky rules the present disc out of court. The Glazunov and Tchaikovsky concertos are available in good transfers on a Biddulph issue ((CD) LAB026 1/91), and a good transfer of the Sibelius is also available on Biddulph ((CD) LAB018, 1/91).'