Between 1945 and 1981 Yehudi Menuhin recorded the Beethoven concerto a remarkable 10 times. His best known traversals are those under Furtwängler and the 1966 version with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Klemperer. Although Menuhin fans may find it useful to have this 1960 performance with Constantin Silvestri and the Vienna Philharmonic, on the whole it offers little that’s new or noteworthy.
Recorded at Vienna’s Muskvereinsaal, the original LP’s spaciousness and warmth are enhanced in this CD transfer, though some residual tape hiss persists. The opening timpani beats sound over-damped and therefore unfocused, Menuhin’s octave entry isn’t perfectly in tune, and in the development the violinist affords insufficient tonal and dynamic contrasts in darker-hued, minor-key passages. However, the recapitulation, nicely set up by Silvestri, is Menuhin’s best on disc, and the Kreisler cadenza goes well too.
Wide vibrato and stiff phrasing in the Larghetto mark the low point of the performance, but the lead-in to the Rondo (after Silvestri’s arresting orchestral unison) is effectively brought off, anticipating a finale that at nearly 11 minutes is notably slow. The two Romances (from Abbey Road masters) sound lifeless, with (again) little dramatic contrast attempted in the quicker central section of the F major. David Oistrakh’s EMI recording of the concerto under André Cluytens brings altogether finer solo playing and superior tone quality with none of Menuhin’s questionable tuning in the first movement. But if you’re still eager to have a Menuhin performance of the Beethoven on your shelves, this is a suitable if far from compelling alternative to his Klemperer remake.
