The Shostakovich First Violin Concerto—much the larger work on this new EMI issue—has been strangely neglected by the record companies in recent years. Victoria Mullova's Philips version, coupled with Prokofiev's No. 1, appeared last summer, but as ES then made plain, the ancient 1956 version of the dedicatee, David Oistrakh (Le Chant du Monde/Harmonia Mundi) still conveys an unmatchable depth and intensity. Even after this spectacular new live recording from Perlman, that still applies. Particularly in the opening Nocturne Oistrakh has an inner depth, a natural hushed gravity that makes Perlman in his brighter, bolder, more purposeful way seem lacking in depth. The brooding individuality of this highly characteristic movement is modified to bring it nearer to the showy needs of a virtuoso concerto.
Perlman with Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic put the work in the light of day, and in the two fast movements and the cadenza that brings tremendous dividends. There is no violinist in the world today who in sheer bravura can quite match Perlman, and that quality brims out the more generously, as here, in a live performance. The ovation which greets Perlman's dazzling performance of the finale, commandingly secure at a very fast speed, is fully justified. It is an exciting experience. But even in the fast movements Oistrakh has something extra to give in a volatile quality, an element of fantasy, which plumbs below the surface, while with him the Passacaglia becomes more of a meditation, leading naturally into the cadenza. Like ES I hope EMI will reissue on CD before long Oistrakh's fine London-made version with Maxim Shostakovich conducting. In the meantime, the Mullova has a better-balanced studio recording than this live recording made in the difficult acoustic of the Mann Auditorium in Tel Aviv. The typical closeness of balance of Perlman's violin provides one basic reason why the performance lacks inner hush, but this is neither so aggressively close as some Perlman recordings nor so rough as some Mann Auditorium recordings.
Anyone fancying the coupling will not be disappointed. Anne-Sophie Mutter (Erato/WEA) for example, may find more mystery and tenderness in the Glazunov, but the command and panache of Perlman are irresistible, and the whole performance erupts into a glorious account of the galloping final section, one to match even Heifetz's legendary versions, and who cares if the tuttis are a little rough in sound.'