Isaac Stern: Tchaikovsky, Sibelius: Violin Concertos (Box set, Vol.6, 1CD)

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Isaac Stern: Tchaikovsky, Sibelius: Violin Concertos (Box set, Vol.6, 1CD)

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Isaac Stern: Tchaikovsky, Sibelius: Violin Concertos (Box set, Vol.6)
Sony Classic | Classical | Flac - Seperated track | 1CD | ~307Mb | Rapidshare

Warm and passionate Stern, masterful Ormandy
I can never pass up a good Sibelius Violin Concerto and picked this CD up for a couple of bucks in a bargain bin. Needless to say, it was well worth it. I've never been very impressed with recordings from the '60s, but this one is excellent. The acoustics are superb – obviously not as good as modern ones, but not "muddy", as the reviewer below said. The Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra sounds outstanding on this recording, and Ormandy is a master. For example, there are parts of the Tchaikovsky concerto where the orchestra's playing is even more breathtaking than Stern's. Is that possible? Ormandy jumps strongly into the rollicking 3rd movement of the Sibelius concerto, unlike a lot of the limp and flaccid performances I've heard under other conductors. And of course, Stern is phenomenal here: it may not his best disc, but it's definitely a very good one. He is characteristically warm and passionate, eschewing show-offy technical fireworks for a down-to-earth and very emotional style. His playing can be just slightly loud in places on this disc (which probably has more to do with the placement of the microphone than anything else), but overall it's a fantastic recording. Five stars.

Great
This has to be one of my favorite CDs. Peter Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto has to be one of my favorite pieces by the violin, and Jean Siblius does a great job on his too. Isaac Stern does a great job, making only one mistake in the third movement of the Tchaikovsky piece. As always, Eugene Ormandy does a great job conducting his Philadelphia Orchestra. I find this an almost perfect replica of what Peter Tchaikovsky and Jean Sibelius pictured when they composed their pieces. This is a very good price considering that I have seen it in bookstores for [a lot more]….

2 of 3 found the following review helpful.