Spivakov Schittke

The answer to the question what would post-Oistrakh Soviet Mozart sound like? is Vladimir Spivakov. The answer to the question what does Spivakov's Mozart sound like? is lightly, lively, elegant, and, every once in a while, extremely intense. In these recordings from the late '70s and early '80s of Mozart's violin concertos and Sinfonia Concertante with the English Chamber Orchestra and violist Yuri Bashmet, Spivakov plays and conducts with graceful artistry, consummate virtuosity, and deep humanity. In opening Allegros, Spivakov is airborne in the zephyrs of spring. In the closing Rondos, Spivakov is dancing in the ballrooms of Europe. But sometimes, especially in the central Andantes, Spivakov can sing with an intimacy and intensity that reveal a more profound Mozart, a Mozart touched not only by eternity but by mortality.

Vladimir Spivakov is one of the world's best-known violinists and a highly regarded conductor, and is respected for his worldwide humanitarian activities. His hometown of Ufa is in Russia's Ural Mountains, the low range traditionally regarded as the division between Europe and Asia…

Alfred Schnittkes "Suite im alten Stil" hat etwas Verwirrendes: Im Gegensatz zu ähnlichen Werken von Grieg und Strawinsky klingt sie wirklich wie eine barocke Komposition, gebrochen nur durch ein paar romantische Harmonien. Der uninformierte Hörer merkt, dass hier etwas nicht stimmt und dass es sich zumindest um einen recht exzentrischen Barockmeister handeln muss, den man nicht so recht einzuordnen vermag.

Alfred Schnittkes "Suite im alten Stil" hat etwas Verwirrendes: Im Gegensatz zu ähnlichen Werken von Grieg und Strawinsky klingt sie wirklich wie eine barocke Komposition, gebrochen nur durch ein paar romantische Harmonien. Der uninformierte Hörer merkt, dass hier etwas nicht stimmt und dass es sich zumindest um einen recht exzentrischen Barockmeister handeln muss, den man nicht so recht einzuordnen vermag.

Firma Melodiya presents an anniversary set dedicated to Vladimir Spivakov’s 70th birthday. This outstanding musician is well-known and loved across the world. A violinist, educator, conductor, founder and permanent leader of the chamber orchestra Moscow Virtuosi and the National Symphony Orchestra of Russia, an organizer of the charity trust that supports talented children, a director of international music festivals both in Russia and overseas.

The excellence of the sound on this disc is partly down to Vladimir Spivakov, who has the most amazing tonal quality. Kyung Wha Chung likened Heifetz's tone to the effect of looking at a very beautiful woman; one is awed by it, thrilled in the moment of hearing, wanting never to lose that sense of heightened aesthetic awareness. Such is the effect of Spivakov's playing as well. It comes across admirably thanks to the Capriccio engineers, both here and in his Chausson disc from around the same time. Because it is a small label, and Spivakov rarely heard in Britain, the disc seems to get little attention, but right from the opening moments of the early Ravel sonata (as opposed to the more famous later one) the quality is unmistakeable.

James Conlon’s suite from Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk collects various scenes, arias, and orchestral interludes into a musical narrative of the opera’s tragic story. Although the first number is entitled “In the court of the Ismailovs”, the suite actually begins with Katerina’s pre-suicide meditation from the final scene before abruptly moving to the rollicking music of Scene 2’s introduction. Two love duets, “Katerina and Sergei” I & II, frame the great orchestral Passacaglia (from Act 2), followed by the comedic “The Drunkard”, which sets up the “Arrival of the Police”. The suite concludes with “In exile”, which contains the opera’s close.

Vladimir Spivakov belonged to the same artistic tradition established by Leopold Auer, and even it might be said he was the true inheritor of the crown afetr Oistrakh and Kogan in which majestic tune, virile temperament and dazzling technique.

Vladimir Spivakov is known for his Mozart interpretations as a soloist, chamber ensemble member and conductor. In his renditions, Mozart’s concertos, violin sonatas, ensembles, divertimentos, symphonies and masses preserve the combination of lightness and inner depth, youthful naivety and philosophic wisdom which were so characteristic of the great Salzburger. From the first years of his artistic career, Spivakov showed interest in Mozart’s heritage composed in different genres.

James Conlon’s suite from Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk collects various scenes, arias, and orchestral interludes into a musical narrative of the opera’s tragic story. Although the first number is entitled “In the court of the Ismailovs”, the suite actually begins with Katerina’s pre-suicide meditation from the final scene before abruptly moving to the rollicking music of Scene 2’s introduction. Two love duets, “Katerina and Sergei” I & II, frame the great orchestral Passacaglia (from Act 2), followed by the comedic “The Drunkard”, which sets up the “Arrival of the Police”. The suite concludes with “In exile”, which contains the opera’s close.