Beethoven: Romances Nos. 1 and 2 / Spohr: Violin Concerto No. 8 / Viotti: Violin Concerto No. 3

Album review

Despite his lengthy, successful career performing with some of the world's best orchestras and conductors, this album by violinist Uto Ughi fails to live up to many expectations. Despite the praise given in the liner notes for the dark timbre of his del Gesu violin, Ughi's sound is very bright, at times bordering on shrill. The sound quality of the recording itself is exceptionally detailed and revealing, qualities that could sometimes be praised. But in this case, the clarity only reveals production noise, space between shifts, and bow changes. Even the long lines of the two Beethoven Romances come across as segmented. Ughi's left hand is also less than stellar on this album; shifts sometimes fall short, vibrato is often quite heavy and intense, and shifts are not always as smooth and seamless as they should be. The accompanying orchestra, I Solisti Veneti, is also not as precise as it could be. The first violins have a tendency to push the tempo during orchestral tuttis and the whole ensemble is rather treble heavy. Despite the enjoyable content of the program, the performance of these works makes this album a less-than-stellar choice.
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