If you're only ever going to get one set of violin concertos, you might well consider this set for your one and only. While it's true that there are several glaring omissions -- no Brahms, no Bach, no Prokofiev Second, and no Bruch First through Third -- and while it's also true that some of the recordings are virtually prehistoric -- several are from the late '40s and the Myaskovsky dates from 1939 (and sounds like it was recorded sometime before the Flood) -- there's no denying that these performances are in every case as ...
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If you're only ever going to get one set of violin concertos, you might well consider this set for your one and only. While it's true that there are several glaring omissions -- no Brahms, no Bach, no Prokofiev Second, and no Bruch First through Third -- and while it's also true that some of the recordings are virtually prehistoric -- several are from the late '40s and the Myaskovsky dates from 1939 (and sounds like it was recorded sometime before the Flood) -- there's no denying that these performances are in every case as good or better than the best ever recorded. Why? Because the soloist is David Oistrakh, who, with his strong, sweet tone, his flawless intonation, his faultless technique, and his soulful interpretations, is acknowledged to be the greatest Soviet violinist and surely one of the greatest violinists of the twentieth century. In performance after performance, Oistrakh demonstrates that he is not only completely at home with Russian and Soviet repertories -- his Tchaikovsky and Glazunov...
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