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| Henryk Szeryng (Photo credit:Wikipedia) |
I bought Brahms symphonic works set by Decca with Bernard Haitink conducting Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (RCO) for the 4 symphonies and it was on sale. While browsing in the comfort of my home, (model customer buying without testing and much forethought) opus 77 caught my sight being one of my favorite pieces having written a review of it previously. Was pleasantly surprised by the very crisp tonality (not necessarily a plus point) of solo violinist Henryk Szeryng with Bernard Haitink conducting RCO.
This recording is a recent remastering by Decca of the original by Philips and expected a darker background but there is still evidence of tape hiss which disappeared once the beautiful music lure you away from it. The remastering engineer could have decided to sacrifice a bit of the tape hiss for a more full bodied sound as I have heard some remastering that are clinical but lacked energy.
For more background on this composition, refer to my previous review so there is no need to repeat it.
This piece most probably have a special place in Szeryng heart being his coming of age first public performance in 1933 with his motherland orchestra; Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra. Like most Polish, Szeryng is a Jew but was spared the horror of 2nd world war holocaust. During the war, he made over 300 appearances to cheer the Allied Forces on top of helping about 4,000 Jewish refugee in their passage to Mexico in 1941.
Specific to this interpretation, I particularly like the grand entrance by Szeryng that is controlled without maximum volume. It is beyond words and you should listen it yourself. The cadenza might not have the technical mastery of Heifetz but is waxed lyrical with the beautifully executed phrasing. As this is an audio, I can only try to imagine what Szeryng did during the famously long break for the soloist while the wood winds take centre stage in the second movement. Wonder if any soloist has ever missed the timely return? It is also for this reason why some violinist stay away from this piece.
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