– PentaTone Multichannel SACD PTC 5186 178 (RQR Series), 61:26 ****:
While it was Belgian virtuoso Artur Grumiaux who first brought out Paganini’s D Minor Violin Concerto (1830) for the Epic label, Henryk Szeryng (1918-1988) quickly assumed the mantle of this explosively virtuosic piece, recording it at Brent Town Hall, Wembley, London, in June 1975. Set in a Francophile galant mold, the opening movement Allegro maestoso alternates major and minor tonalities while exploiting its martial main theme over a pizzicato string ensemble. Szeryng supplies his own bravura cadenza rife with flute pyrotechnics and chromatic etudes. An F-sharp Minor middle movement divides into three parts, and its juicy trombones imitate Berlioz. Szeryng’s violin palpitates as well as sings, the line ever extended upward, finally over a halo of harp-like strings. The last movement enjoys a Hungarian spirit–and triangle–adumbrating the school of Hubay and even Wieniawski. The tricky, pliant wanderings into D-flat add to the glorious mix of color and bold, even gaudy figurations.
The more popular D Major Concerto of 1818 has had any number of gifted exponents, from Francescatti to Accardo, Menuhin to Bustabo, Perlman to Chang. Szeryng and Gibson opt for the expansive orchestral ritornello in the first movement, punctuated by ariosi of the highest order from Szeryng’s Guarnerius, cadenza courtesy of Wilhelm. Brilliant bow shifts in pressure, alternate pizzicati and arco registrations, flute tone and harmonics, all proceed with fluency to spare. The surround sound effect proves quite luscious as the LSO strings and Szeryng’s soaring tessitura mix or collide as Paganini sees fit. The circus effects of cymbals and horns are no less piercing than the allusions to Italian opera. Blistering attacks in the first movement, including double stops on which you could slice a hearty sandwich. After a masterful song for the Adagio–the bass fiddles and bassoon out of the depths–we can delight in the stunning sonics of the Rondo’s flighty upbeats, marked by Szeryng’s sautille bow strokes.
[This is another in PentaTone’s series of reissues from the 1970s’ quad era – recordings made for Philips but never issued then in any of the problematic quad formats. Surround sonics are excellent and the lack of the center channel is not noticed, even with the violin soloist…Ed.]
— Gary Lemco
