Bach: Konzert für zwei Violinen und Orchester D-Moll BWV 1043 / Vivaldi: Concerto Grosso A-moll Op. 3 Nr. 8

David und Igor Oistrach, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Franz Konwitschny

Publisher: HORCH HOUSE, HH01.00.90

Playing time: 30 min

Specifications: half track ¼", mono, RTM SM468, CCIR, 510 nWb/m, 38 cm/s

Reel(s):               2 standard metal reels, with stickers

Packaging:        1 deluxe cardboard box

Inserts:               1 insert folder with 2 insert sheets and 6 photo prints

Homepage: https://www.horchhouse.com

Translation of the German review:

David Oistrach (b. 1908, † 1974) received his first violin lessons at the age of six. The Soviet violinist of Jewish descent married the concert pianist Tamara Rotareva in 1930. In 1931 their son Igor was born. He also began playing the violin at the age of six and became one of his father's most important pupils. They gave their first concert together in 1947, and David Oistrach performed over 100 concerts a year in the Soviet Union. After Russian authorities approved foreign tours, father and son Oistrach became among the best-known classical performers from the Soviet Union. Their popular performances took them to the United States for more than a quarter century, as well as to Europe, Canada, South America, Japan, and Australia.

Bach and Vivaldi lived in the same era. The history books say that Bach studied the compositions of Vivaldi's compositions, but Vivaldi probably did not study Bach's compositions. The music of Johann Sebastian Bach is the first piece on the tape and rolls out the red carpet with the Concerto for two violins with the movements "Vivace c d minor", "Largo ma non tanto 12/8 F major" and "Allegro 3/4 d minor" for the listeners. This standard-setting work may be the best known of Bach's series of double concertos. It is believed to have been composed at the beginning of his Köthen period around 1719 or around 1730/31 during his Leipzig period. Its devotional composition, especially the second movement, shows the masterly interlocking of melodic arcs. No less sensational is the playing of the exceptional Oistrach with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. The ravishingly played third and last movements are seen as a reference to Vivaldi's depictions of storms. This creates a wonderful transition: Vivaldi's "Concerto Grosso in A minor, Op. 3, No. 8" is in no way inferior to Bach. Already in the first movement, the thought of a dialogue between the compositions suggests itself to me. Vivaldi's signature can be heard immediately. Compared to Bach, I make out something more of an Italian swing; of a temperament that the Venetian brings.

Had I not known that this was a mono recording, I probably would not have thought of it immediately. The two violins and the small orchestration are rendered with such differentiation and vividness that I find it hard to believe. Sitting in the front row, I can "see" into the recording just as it was played on tape 65 years ago. Father and son Oistrach make music on their violins so fabulously attuned and accomplished that they act as one. The precision is breathtaking and is passed on to the listener with every conceivable finesse and nuance. The ETERNA recording was made on April 16 and 17, 1957 in the Leipzig Congress Hall, together with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. I can't imagine that this recording can be topped. For tape fans this sound pearl is a must!

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)