I little thought I would listen to Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto four times on two consecutive evenings – and still really enjoy it the fourth time round! A great tribute to Vadim Repin’s playing on the new Philips release (with Valery Gergiev and the Kirov Orchestra). As a violinist, Repin is nothing like Heifetz (who is?) But he has a similar way of making you listen to what he is playing, by continually varying his bowing, playing and dynamics. You listen to Repin when he plays. The next phrase is never predictable.
I now have five recordings of Repin playing this work (from 1985, 1989, 1994, 2001 – and the present disc recorded in 2002. I sense that Repin is more ready to meditate in this latest version; the old excitement is still there, but it is contrasted with added repose where needed. The violinist opening of the work is near ideal in the present performance, and I greatly admired the beginning of the slow movement, played with touching simplicity, and piano.
The coupling is the Myakovsky violin concerto. A thoroughly pleasant work that Repin plays masterfully and with obvious affection. All in all, a worthwhile new CD. Having a Russian orchestra playing with him in these Russian works obviously helps the feeling of rightness that Repin brings to the music.