Maxim Vengerov, Irina Vinogradova - Works for Violin and Piano (1989) CD-Rip

Maxim Vengerov was a mere 14 when he recorded these performances last year. He is not the conventional Wunderkind who startles the listener with a display of technical high jinks. No, Vengerov is first and foremost a musician with a natural dignity and a violin tone that allows the music to rest on the ear in the most sympathetic way possible. This CD, in which he has the support of a highly experienced and sensitive accompanist in Irina Vinogradova, presents a very ambitious programme indeed—one which Vengerov proves without a shadow of a doubt that he is fully prepared to undertake.
Despite a few lapses in concentration, the Schubert Fantasia, the composer's best work in this idiom, is handled with remarkable insight. The air of foreboding in the Andante motto that opens the work is sustained well by Vengerov and in the Allegretto that succeeds it his wonderful elegance of tone is effectively used to portray the Viennese lightness. I thought the Andantino theme for the variations was a little on the slow side, but the latter are rich in detail, if not ideally dramatic. The artists get down to a grittier style for the final section and there is a Beethovenian determination from both of them.
The Tchaikovsky and the Ernst are more conventional showpieces, although quite different in appeal. The Valse-Scherzo is played with a superbly communicative and aristocratic tone that makes the phrases sing. It is absolutely pure and clean; never does Vengerov misuse it. Perhaps the Ernst doesn't have Gidon Kremer's panache and mastery of the fiendish complexities (DG (CD) 514 484-2GH, 4/86), but Vengerov produces a feathery lightness of bowing in the second variation that is really quite remarkable.
I found the Ysaye a bit too much on the virtuosic side and some of the dramatic impact of the harmonies is lost. The ideas needed a more powerful projection. The Ravel Tzigane, on the other hand, is stunning. Vengerov has the gipsy feel; there is plenty of smouldering passion and pride here. The dream-world that Ravel creates around these colourful images is caught in the most vivid manner by both artists.
After applying the right degree of sensuality and softness for the Debussy, Vengerov takes on the Carmen Fantasy by Waxman with a relaxed confidence. There is a certain cultural naivety here, but one can sit back and enjoy the virtuosity with a knowledge that Vengerov will never trip up and never produce a less than engaging tone. Throughout the CD the recorded sound is finely balanced.'