Select a month

Back to The Archives

Nathan Milstein Archive

Milstein Rarities = LALO: Symphonie espagnole; MENDELSSOHN: Violin Concerto; DVORAK: Violin Concerto – Nathan Milstein (vln.) / Philadelphia Orch. /  Eugene Ormandy / Phil.-Symph. of NY/ Arturo Toscanini / Leopold Stokowski – Pristine Audio

Milstein Rarities = LALO: Symphonie espagnole; MENDELSSOHN: Violin Concerto; DVORAK: Violin Concerto – Nathan Milstein (vln.) / Philadelphia Orch. /  Eugene Ormandy / Phil.-Symph. of NY/ Arturo Toscanini / Leopold Stokowski – Pristine Audio

by | Jun 8, 2017 | Classical Reissue Reviews

Milstein Rarities = LALO: Symphonie espagnole in d minor, Op. 21; MENDELSSOHN: Violin Concerto in e minor: Andante & Allegro non troppo; Allegro molto vivace; DVORAK: Violin Concerto in a minor, Op. 53 – Nathan Milstein, violin/ Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy (Lalo)/ Philharmonic-Symphony of New York/ Arturo Toscanini (Mendelssohn)/ Leopold Stokowski (Dvorak) – Pristine Audio PASC 503, 66:15 [www.pristineclassical.com] *****:  The aristocrat of violinists, Milstein, has three rare performances restored to us by Mark Obert-Thorn. A few moments after my receipt of Mark Obert-Thorn’s latest restoration, “Milstein Rarities,” I played the collaboration of 26 October 1947 of the Dvorak Violin Concerto with Stokowski and the New York Philharmonic. Not only does this document preserve a new addition to the legacy of Leopold Stokowski, it illuminates Milstein’s approach to a work he did not begin to record over the course of his career—thrice—until 4 March 1951 in Minneapolis with Antal Dorati.  Milstein (1904-1992), like Jascha Heifetz, had been a pupil of Leopold Auer; but unlike Heifetz, Milstein did not nurture a ‘sang froid’ demeanor in his art to complement the technical proficiency he displayed. I had the good fortune to interview Milstein briefly after a performance of the Beethoven Concerto in […]

Tribute to Piatagorsky = BRAHMS: Double Concerto; SAINT-SAËNS: Cello Concerto; BLOCH: Schelomo – Gregor Piatagorsky (cello) / Nathan Milstein (vln.) – Praga Digitals

Tribute to Piatagorsky = BRAHMS: Double Concerto; SAINT-SAËNS: Cello Concerto; BLOCH: Schelomo – Gregor Piatagorsky (cello) / Nathan Milstein (vln.) – Praga Digitals

by | Jun 8, 2017 | Classical Reissue Reviews

Tribute to Piatagorsky = BRAHMS: Double Concerto in a minor, Op. 102; SAINT-SAËNS: Cello Concerto No. 1 in a minor, Op. 33; BLOCH: Schelomo – Rhapsody – Gregor Piatagorsky, cello/ Nathan Milstein, violin/ Robin Hood Dell Orchestra  of Philadelphia/ Fritz Reiner/ Boston Symphony Orchestra/ Charles Munch (Bloch) – Praga Digitals PRD 250 368, 70:56 (6/9/17) [Distr. by Harmonia mundi/PIAS] ****: The Old-World cello virtuoso Piatagorsky plies his glamorous trade in three repertory staples. This assemblage of classic performances, 1950-1967, of famed Russian cellist Gregor Piatagorsky (1903-1976) easily demonstrates his glorious tone and consummate technique, which found natural expression in his chosen repertory. Certainly, prior to the appearance of Mstislav Rostropovich on the international concert stage, Piatagorsky dominated as the leading representative of his ‘school’ of musicianship. While the document of the Brahms Double Concerto from Philadelphia (29 June1951) – incorrectly attributed to NYC and the RCA studio orchestra – allows us to hear his work with compatriot Nathan Milstein (1904-1992), we unfortunately possess no recordings of the piano trio that included Vladimir Horowitz. Despite Milstein’s often-cited dislike of the music of Brahms, he distinguishes himself consistently in performance, his having agreed to set down the Double Concerto in tribute to […]