Although Tchaikovsky was inspired to write his Violin Concerto by Lalo's 'Symphonie espagnole,' its musical lineage reaches back to Beethoven's Violin Concerto. Consciously or not, Tchaikovsky was composing in Beethoven's shadow, as did Brahms at about the same time. Neither of these influences, however, kept Tchaikovsky's concerto from being completely his own, and it is performed here to technical perfection by Midori and the Berlin Philharmonic under Claudio Abbado. As a companion to the Tchaikovsky, Dmitri Shostakovich's first Violin Concerto comes across as much more of a study in abstracts, considerably less rooted in the German symphonic tradition. This work was written for David Oistrakh just after Shostakovich's music was condemned by Stalin's cultural regime, and could not be performed until 1955. It was one of many works Shostakovich wrote during those years to truly satisfy his compositional urges while turning out public works to satisfy the state. This pair of live Berlin performances makes an attractive disc for collectors and more general music lovers. Sony's sound is, as always, quite full and captures every nuance of the performance while omitting most audience noise. In a bit of interesting editing, however, the same deservedly enthusiastic applause follows both works.

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Although Tchaikovsky was inspired to write his Violin Concerto by Lalo's 'Symphonie espagnole,' its musical lineage reaches back to Beethoven's Violin Concerto. Consciously or not, Tchaikovsky was composing in Beethoven's shadow, as did Brahms at about the same time. Neither of these influences, however, kept Tchaikovsky's concerto from being completely his own, and it is performed here to technical perfection by Midori and the Berlin Philharmonic under Claudio Abbado. As a companion to the Tchaikovsky, Dmitri Shostakovich's first Violin Concerto comes across as much more of a study in abstracts, considerably less rooted in the German symphonic tradition. This work was written for David Oistrakh just after Shostakovich's music was condemned by Stalin's cultural regime, and could not be performed until 1955. It was one of many works Shostakovich wrote during those years to truly satisfy his compositional urges while turning out public works to satisfy the state. This pair of live Berlin performances makes an attractive disc for collectors and more general music lovers. Sony's sound is, as always, quite full and captures every nuance of the performance while omitting most audience noise. In a bit of interesting editing, however, the same deservedly enthusiastic applause follows both works.