Legendary Soviet Violinists in Germany ∙ 2CD

13.99 €

This double album pays homage to three Soviet violinists: Boris Goldstein, Igor Bezrodny, and Julian Sitkovetsky, featuring live and radio studio recordings from their tours in Germany.

Boris Goldstein, who attended the Eugène Ysaÿe International Violin Competition in 1937, was praised by Carl Flesch for his enchanting talent and astounding playing skills. Following World War II, Goldstein had limited opportunities to perform abroad. In 1955, he embarked on a concert tour to Greece and Hungary, but thereafter faced restrictions on leaving the Soviet Union and encountered discrimination from the cultural bureaucracy. In 1974, Goldstein and his family emigrated to Hannover, West Germany, where he began a new chapter in his artistic career.

Igor Bezrodny received his education exclusively under Abram Yampolsky, starting from the Central Music School and continuing at the Moscow Conservatoire. Among his classmates were Leonid Kogan, Julian Sitkovetsky, Eduard Grach, Boris Goldstein, and Elizaveta Gilels. Bezrodny made his first visit to East Germany in 1950 and returned numerous times.

Julian Sitkovetsky made his debut in East Germany in 1955, relatively later compared to other Soviet violinists of his generation. He performed consecutive concertos by Sibelius, Khachaturian, and Paganini (No. 2). A year later, he fell ill and was diagnosed with lung cancer. Bezrodny reported on Sitkovetsky’s last concerts: “He had a remarkable success with his interpretation of Shostakovich’s First Violin Concerto, which he played during one of his last performances and already seriously ill.”

In stock

SHARE

LEGENDARY SOVIET VIOLINISTS CONCERTS IN GERMANY 1950-1977
BORIS GOLDSTEIN · IGOR BEZRODNY · JULIAN SITKOVETSKY

CD 1

WIENIAWSKI: Violin Concerto No 1 in F-sharp Minor, Op 14
Boris Goldstein ∙ violin
Rundfunkorchester Hannover des NDR
Zdeněk Mácal ∙ conductor
Recorded · 06 June 1975 ∙ Hannover ∙ Landesfunkhaus ∙ NDR ∙ Live Recording

PROKOFIEV: Violin Concerto No 2 in G Minor, Op 6
Boris Goldstein ∙ violin
NDR-Sinfonieorchester
Yuri Ahronovitch ∙ conductor
Recorded · 08 October 1976 ∙ Hannover ∙ Landesfunkhaus ∙ NDR ∙ Live Recording

BRAHMS: Violin Sonata No 3 in D Minor, Op 108
Boris Goldstein ∙ violin
Kirsti Hjort ∙ piano
Recorded · 03 June 1977 ∙ Hannover ∙ Landesfunkhaus ∙ NDR ∙ Radio Studio Recording

CD 2

KHACHATURIAN: Song-Poem in Honor of Ashugs
KHACHATURIAN: Ayesha’s Dance (Arr. by Jascha Heifetz)
KHACHATURIAN: Sabre Dance (Arr. by Jascha Heifetz)
Boris Goldstein ∙ violin
Kirsti Hjort ∙ piano
Recorded · 03 June 1977 ∙ Hannover ∙ Landesfunkhaus ∙ NDR ∙ Radio Studio Recording

HÄNDEL: Violin Sonata in E Major, Op 1, No 15, HWV 373
Igor Bezrodny ∙ violin
Vsevolod Petrushansky ∙ piano
Recorded · 08 June 1968 ∙ Leipzig ∙ Kongreßhalle · Rundfunk der DDR ∙ Live Recording

KABALEVSKY: Violin Concerto in C Major, Op 48
Igor Bezrodny ∙ violin
Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin
Kirill Kondrashin ∙ conductor
Recorded ∙ 24 July 1950 ∙ East Berlin ∙ Friedrichstadtpalast · Rundfunk der DDR ∙ Live Recording

PAGANINI: Violin Concerto No 2 in B Minor, Op 7
Julian Sitkovetsky ∙ violin
Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Leipzig
Franz Jung ∙ conductor
Recorded ∙ 17 December 1955 ∙ Leipzig ∙ Funkhaus · Rundfunk der DDR ∙ Radio Studio Recording

Article number: MC 2050
UPC barcode: 791154050934
Release date: 1 April 2022
Booklet: 12 Pages
Total timing: 72:16 CD1 ∙ 66:13 CD2
From the Original Masters ∙ © 2021 Meloclassic

May 2022 ∙ MusicWeb International ∙ Jonathan Woolf ∙ Legendary Soviet Violinists ∙ Concerts in Germany ∙ 1950-1977
Three great Soviet performers (Boris Goldstein, Igor Bezrodny, Julian Sitkovetsky) are caught in this twofer, in excellent sound, finely remastered and outstandingly well documented. This album is especially valuable for access to the live and radio recordings made by Goldstein (1922-1987), a superbly gifted performer, whose career was sabotaged by Soviet discrimination and who emigrated to West Germany in 1974.
View here

My selected CDs 0