Philip Peters <[log in to unmask]> writes:

>I agree Heifetz recorded the Sibelius concerto probably better than
>anybody else but the trouble is he did it at least three times:  with
>Hendl, Beecham and Mitropoulos.  It's the last one I like best, it's even
>more fiery and full of energy, even more compelling than the one with Hendl

Many moons ago I inscribed my thoughts here concerning the general
musicality of Heifetz's playing.  I find that it, quite simply, lacks the
human element which made his predecessors and contemporaries like Kreisler,
Ysaye, and Jan Kubelik so appealing.  As for the finest recording of the
Sibelius Concerto (which is a bane of mine -- I washed out of an important
violin competition with that piece when I was a mere lad of sixteen ...
yet I still love it dearly!) -- I say it is Isaac Stern with Beecham
conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (1951).

The sense of the epic nature of the piece is not lost on Stern, who cuts a
fine Odysseus-figure, as he sails the turbulent Northern ocean of Sibelius'
expression.  And Beecham is a truly dispassionate Zeus, manipulating the
winds of fortune, leading up to the soloist's triumph (?) in the grand
final movement.

Regards,

Edward