Shostakovich: Sonata for Violin and Chamber Orchestra

Chronique

While Vladimir Mendelssohn and the Nieuw Sinfonietta Amsterdam's recording of Rudolf Barshai's arrangement for chamber orchestra of Shostakovich's Third String Quartet is very, very good, it is not the finest ever made -- Barshai's own recording with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe has that distinction. It's not that the NSA is a lesser group than the COE; it's that Barshai truly, deeply, profoundly believes in the virtues of his arrangement -- its expanded ensemble, its nuanced dynamics, its wind and celesta colorings -- while Mendelssohn and the NSA are merely performing the arrangement, performing it brilliantly but still just performing it. But Mendelssohn and the NSA's recording of Mendelssohn's own arrangement of Shostakovich's Viola Sonata is not only the finest ever made by virtue of being the only recording ever made, it is one of the most compelling recordings of the work ever made in any form. In the enlarged Viola Sonata, Mendelssohn has the faith of the true believer plus all the fervor that comes with being the soloist. Although fans of the Third Quartet and the Viola Sonata could legitimately prefer the originals, even fans of the original may find Mendelssohn's harrowing performance of the Viola Sonata-cum-concerto a riveting experience, particularly in producer Klaas A. Posthuma's up-close-and-personal digital sound.
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