Henryk Szeryng: Dvorak & Brahms

Album review

Henryk Szeryng, one of the pantheon of astounding artists to emerge during the "Golden Age" of the late 1950s and 1960s, was relatively unknown to the world music scene until his serendipitous discovery by Arthur Rubinstein. His playing is characterized by his generally sweet and melodious tone and moving musicality. Regrettably, this recording of the Brahms Concerto with the Rundfunks Orchestra is not a shining example of the true nature of his playing. Some of the blame can be chalked up to this being a live recording, but Szeryng's usually powerful sound is unusually weak and his tone is unfortunately piercing, not at all a good sound match for Brahms. There are also some intonation difficulties -- again, probably because it was not recorded in a studio -- but it is not representative of what can be heard on the majority of Szeryng's recordings. The Rundfunks Orchestra, usually a commanding and solid ensemble, is also not at its best here. The Dvorák Die Hussiten overture is plagued with intonation problems, particularly in the winds, and the accompaniment of the Brahms is impatient, often rocketing ahead during orchestral tuttis. Existing fans of Szeryng will still find this CD a welcome addition to their collections for Szeryng's interpretation alone, but anyone looking for a definitive recording of the Brahms will need to look elsewhere.

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