Shumsky could easily have been the grandfather of his two astonishing rivals in the Violin Concerto; incredibly their ages when they made these records added up to only 33. Anne-Sophie Mutter's version on DG is especially remarkable; she brings to the music just that fresh youthful approach it needs and her celestial tone is irresistible. Shumsky's more mature playing will have its admirers too, especially in the first movement, and as I've felt in other recordings his playing grows in stature when he reaches the first-movement cadenza which is very long (too long?) and full of double-stopping at which he excels. He wrote it himself. For some reason he cuts the cadenza in the slow movement, as also the bar just before it. Here and there he allows himself some not displeasing delicate scoops which Mutter avoids. Though better accompanied, she is perhaps a little too near the microphone.
I did not find the Sinfonia Concertante quite so satisfying. Shumsky's son is a fine violist but not quite so secure as his father, and though they play the finale with an admirable vitality they do not convey as much feeling in the middle movement, where their tempo is faster than in the rival versions and the accompaniment less sensitive. In the Mehta/DG recording the soloists' expressive rubato is followed with marvellous sympathy, making this much the most pleasing performance of the three, though its superiority to the Harnoncourt recording (also on DG) is less apparent in the outer movements.
In the new version the Scottish Chamber Orchestra is mostly admirable and the rather dry acoustic benefits the clarity when, for instance, the lower strings have quick semiquavers. But the warm glow apparent in the Mehta version does add to one's pleasure.'