The recording of the

Mendelssohn Violin Concerto Felix Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64, is his last concerto. Well received at its premiere, it has remained among the most prominent and highly-regarded violin concertos. It holds a central place in the violin repertoire and ha ...

Nathan Milstein Nathan Mironovich Milstein ( – December 21, 1992) was a Russian-born American virtuoso violinist. Widely considered one of the finest violinists of the 20th century, Milstein was known for his interpretations of Bach's solo violin works and ...

and the

New York Philharmonic Orchestra The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

conducted by

Bruno Walter Bruno Walter (born Bruno Schlesinger, September 15, 1876February 17, 1962) was a German-born conductor, pianist and composer. Born in Berlin, he escaped Nazi Germany in 1933, was naturalised as a French citizen in 1938, and settled in the U ...

was the first classical

long-playing record The LP (from "long playing" or "long play") is an analog sound storage medium, a phonograph record format characterized by: a speed of rpm; a 12- or 10-inch (30- or 25-cm) diameter; use of the "microgroove" groove specification; and ...

, and the first 12" LP of any kind, in 1948. The issue marked

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the A ...

' move away from the 78 rpm format for classical, and the success of Columbia's format soon forced

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

to follow suit. The recording had already been released as Columbia Masterworks Set M-MM-577 in 1945. The first LP sleeve, a flimsy kraft paper top open envelope, carried the Steinweiss artwork from the earlier 78 rpm album MM-577. Milstein's playing in the concerto, which was already familiar in the concert hall, received wide critical acclaim. There are a number of other recordings of Milstein playing the concerto. In addition to the 1945 recording with Walter, he was recorded in a 1946 Library of Congress performance with piano accompaniment by Joseph Blatt, in an April 1962 telecast with Walter Hendl and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, with the London

Philharmonia Orchestra The Philharmonia Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It was founded in 1945 by Walter Legge, a classical music record producer for EMI. Among the conductors who worked with the orchestra in its early years were Richard Strauss, ...

under

Léon Barzin Léon Eugene Barzin (November 27, 1900April 19, 1999) was a Belgian-born American conductor and founder of the National Orchestral Association (NOA), the oldest surviving training orchestra in the United States. Barzin was also the founding m ...

, with the Pittsburgh Symphony under

William Steinberg William Steinberg (Cologne, August 1, 1899New York City, May 16, 1978) was a German-American conductor. Biography Steinberg was born Hans Wilhelm Steinberg in Cologne, Germany. He displayed early talent as a violinist, pianist, and composer, ...

for Capitol, and in 1973 for

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

with the

Vienna Philharmonic The Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; german: Wiener Philharmoniker, links=no) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. It ...

conducted by

Claudio Abbado Claudio Abbado (; 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014) was an Italian conductor who was one of the leading conductors of his generation. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony ...

.Anthony Paterson ''The World of Compact Discs'' - Contemporary Review - 1 September 1999 - "Here we have a recording of two of the greatest Romantic concertos, those of Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky with the Vienna Philharmonic under Claudio Abbado. This disc is an additional highlight of the Penguin releases. The VPO's famed strings harmonise perfectly with the sensitive performance of the soloist, Nathan Milstein. His skill is especially evident in the andante of the Mendelssohn concerto. "

References

{{Authority control 1940s classical albums 1948 albums Nathan Milstein albums Columbia Records albums New York Philharmonic albums

See also

References