Search - Louis Gruenberg, Sergey Prokofiev, Pierre Monteux :: Prokofiev / Gruenberg: Violin Concertos

Don't Spend a Fortune for Heifetz's Gruenberg!

Michael B. Richman | Portland, Maine USA | 04/07/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I know many classical connoisseurs love the Naxos Historical series, but I have only managed to pick up a handful of them so far. While I love old mono recordings, anything that was originally produced in the pre-LP era just doesn't sound that great to me. Anyway, I made an exception with this title because I love violinist Jascha Heifetz. I only became a serious collector of classical music recently so I missed many of the titles in RCA/BMG's "The Heifetz Collection" when they were widely available. Now most of those titles fetch outrageous prices in the Amazon Marketplace because of their scarcity. One such disc is Volume 21 featuring performances of the Walton and Gruenberg Violin Concertos. However, that very same Walton performance recently became available on a BMG Import two-disc set devoted to the composer. Needless to say I snatched it up (at a sane price to boot), and then bought this Naxos title in order to get the Gruenberg. The style of the Gruenberg Concerto is very reminiscent of Gershwin in that it features elements of swing-era jazz incorporated into a classical setting. It is an enjoyable piece but certainly not a must have for the casual fan. The bonus with this Naxos CD is the opportunity to hear Heifetz's original mono recording of Prokofiev's 2nd Concerto from 1937 with Koussevitsky leading the BSO. The standard bearer of this work for me has always been Heifetz's 1959 stereo remake with Charles Munch leading the Bostonians. It was wonderful to finally compare the two performances, especially since they not only feature the same violinist, but also the same orchestra. While it is a fascinating account, alas it does not dethrone the stereo version. Though in the future, I will have to consider Naxos Historical CDs more seriously because they do offer some of the greatest performances of the 78 era, in surprisingly good sound and at very reasonable prices."