Paganini: Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major, Op. 6

“Ilya Gringolts is an outstanding young Russian violinist; with this Paganini programme he began his recording career at the deep end. He's able to surmount the ferocious technical demands, and has, too, a notably rich, beautiful, unforced tone.
In the unaccompanied Nel cor più non mi sento Variations, he seems rather careful – missing the passionate directness that some bring to this piece. But Gringolts's more expansive and delicate account is equally valid, the theme, with its freely expressive ornamentation, especially appealing. The other shorter items work well, too, in particular the elegant Cantabile – originally for violin and guitar. Only La campanella is a bit disappointing: one feels the need for a more vigorous approach, and despite the finesse of the playing it's difficult not to regret the absence of the orchestra.
The First Concerto benefits from a truly outstanding accompaniment, performed (and recorded) with a wonderful sense of space and balance.
Even the bass drum and cymbal parts are played with sensitivity – what can sound like a crudely overloaded score emerges here full of colour and grandeur. With such fine orchestral sonority, one might wonder what the concerto would sound like in its original key. Paganini played it in E flat, by tuning his strings a semitone higher, and wrote the orchestral parts in the higher key; his aim was to produce a more brilliant, penetrating sound. Present- day soloists, understandably, prefer the standard tuning for such a demanding work.
Gringolts plays with sweetness or brilliance as required, though perhaps the first movement didn't need so many extreme tempo changes and perhaps the Adagio should have had a more dramatic tone, to match the darkly romantic orchestration. But the finale is terrific, with all the verve and high spirits you could want.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

This never before issued recital was given in 1954, when Zino Francescatti was at the peak of his formidable powers. The legendary French violinist, whose musical ancestry goes back to Paganini, plays with such stunning precision and musicality that these works leap off the page with acrobatic joy. Francescatti's `old world' approach to this music includes his use of piano accompaniment in the famous D major Concerto, and in the seven Caprices. (Francescatti never made a commercial recording of Caprice No. 17, so this stands as a new addition to his discography.) This electrifying CD is for enthusiasts of the grand era of virtuoso violin playing, and reconfirms Francescatti's place, along with Heifetz and Milstein, among the three greatest players of their generation.