Max Bruch: Scottish Fantasy; Serenade

Max Bruch wrote many works for violin and orchestra, not just the deservedly famous G Minor Concerto. Salvatore Accardo has recorded nine of these works and does a terrific job. Michael Rabin and Jascha Heifetz (not to mention Itzhak Perlman) recorded the 'Scottish Fantasy' and those recordings have become legendary, for good reason. I prefer that of Rabin even though that recording is now fifty years old. Neither Heifetz nor Perlman is chopped liver. And this Fedotov isn't either, but I have to say it is in fourth place, perhaps slightly ahead of Accardo, but way behind the other three. One thing that I didn't like about his playing--and I will admit it may be an idiosyncrasy on my part--is his fast, tight vibrato which often sounds just slightly sharp to my ears. Technically, he is brilliant. He handles the finale's double-stops as if they were child's play. And he manages well in the Allegro middle movement which conductor Dmitry Yablonsky takes at a breakneck pace. Strangely, this whole performance sounds more Russian than Scottish to me. Of course, Bruch was writing in mainstream mitteleuropäisch style and about the only thing in the 'Fantasy' that is Scottish are the 'Scotch snaps,' heard primarily in the Andante. Still there is something about Fedotov's playing and that of the Russian Philharmonic--perhaps its the over-the-top expressivity--that makes the whole thing sound more Slavic than any other performance I've ever heard. Some might say this could be a good thing. It's a matter of taste, I guess.

When we come to the 'Serenade' we are dealing with a different matter. It is essentially Bruch's fourth violin concerto, and it is almost never played. As far as I know the only widely available version is that by Accardo, recorded perhaps twenty years ago. Its style is virtually the same as that of the 'Fantasy' or the G Minor Concerto, even though it was written long after those two. It is perhaps a little less immediately memorable than its better-known siblings, but it's a worthwhile addition to the violin concerto repertoire and deserves to be heard here. Fedotov is a valid exponent of the piece. I am less bothered by Fedotov's vibrato here--maybe that's because my mind's ear doesn't automatically compare him with others as it does in the 'Fantasy'--and this is quite a good reading. Sound in both works, with the violin highlighted, is slightly over-resonant, but the orchestra generally sounds good if not always crystal clear.

So, although this wouldn't be my first choice for the 'Scottish Fantasy' I could recommend it to anyone wanting to hear the 'Serenade' and even to someone otherwise lacking a recording of the 'Fantasy.' And, of course, Naxos's budget price makes a difference as well.