Nathan Milstein – Masterpieces for Violin and Orchestra / Walter Susskind ( 200g

Label: Analogue Productions – AAPC 8528 ( Capitol SP-8528)
AAA 100% Analogue – Limited Edition –
Mastered by Kevin Gray – Pressed at QRP
Violinist Nathan Milstein is backed by The Concert Arts Orchestra conducted by Walter Susskind for this recording of Violin and Orchestra masterpieces by Mozart, Beethoven, Wieniawski, Novacek, Stravinsky, and Saint-Saens.
Milstein Masterpieces has, since its first release in 1960, been a favorite among connoisseurs of violin recordings and classical music aficionados generally. Rare, premium condition copies command in excess of $500 on the pre-owned market, and to this day remain highly desirable and collectible.

“The double-stopping of the big theme in the Wieniawski and the audible bouncing of the bow in the lightning-quick passages of the Saint-Saëns show Milstein at his best. The Stravinsky is presumably based on the composer’s own arrangement for violin and piano (made with Dushkin), the violin taking not only the melody originally given to the bassoon but all the other phrases that could conceivably be regarded as melody. Here the orchestral part appears to be more than a restoration of the 1919 scoring with fuller woodwind added, conceivably owing something to the original 1911 scoring. In any case no one is likely to worry overmuch about the ancestry of what here becomes a delightful occasional piece, warmly performed…” – The Gramophone magazine