The Art Of Leonid Kogan CD 15 - Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D major op.61 (2014)

1. I. Allegro ma non troppo (23:59)
2. II. Larghetto (9:44)
3. III. Rondo allegro (9:28)

Leonid Kogan (violin), 
Orchestre de la Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire
Andre Vandernoot (conductor)

Kogan was born in the Ukraine in 1924 and died of a heart attack in 1982 at age 58 a few days after playing this piece in Vienna. His western discography isn't extensive and the few he recorded for the Columbia division of EMI are the most collectible.

So what is so special about Kogan and this performance and recording? He's considered one of the 20th century's violin greats along with Heifetz, Milstein, Oistrakh and a some others, but regardless of lists and placement within such lists, his playing here is dramatic, forceful and intense, yet crystalline-silky. I don't feel all that comfortable writing about soloists or comparing this performance to others I've heard live and on record because I'm really not qualified, so I'll stop. You can learn more about the piece from the annotation than from me.

Let's just say it's a performance that you can listen to repeatedly and be thrilled every play. As for the recording, well it is an old stereo recording that's somewhat distant, with left-right separation that's strictly old school but it leaves the center for Kogan's violin, which is richly recording tonally and texturally. --- Michael Fremer, analogplanet.com

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