Milstein Masterpieces has, since its first release in 1960, been a favorite among connoisseurs of violin recordings and classical music aficionados generally. Rare, premium condition copies command in excess of $500 on the pre-owned market, and to this day remain highly desirable and collectible.

 

Nathan Milstein's American debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1929 served notice throughout the nation that a young artist of special consequence had arrived. He was 25 that season, already a veteran of the European concert stage, and accolades. Master classes with Auer and Ysaye readied Milstein for a stellar career.

 

Analogue Productions has readied this superb reissue of Milstein Masterpieces for ultimate listening pleasure. We took the original analog tape to Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio for his mastering magic. 

 

The range of music presented on this collection — from the classical expression of Mozart to the salon civilities of Saint-Saens — confirms in permanent form what concert audiences heard and enjoyed for season after season. 

 

"The double-stopping of the big theme in the Wieniawski and the audible bouncing of the bow in the lightning-quick passages of the Saint-Saëns show Milstein at his best. The Stravinsky is presumably based on the composer’s own arrangement for violin and piano (made with Dushkin), the violin taking not only the melody originally given to the bassoon but all the other phrases that could conceivably be regarded as melody. Here the orchestral part appears to be more than a restoration of the 1919 scoring with fuller woodwind added, conceivably owing something to the original 1911 scoring. In any case no one is likely to worry overmuch about the ancestry of what here becomes a delightful occasional piece, warmly performed..." — The Gramophone magazine

 

 

Musicians:

Nathan Milstein, violin

The Concert Arts Orchestra

Walter Susskind, conductor

 

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Adagio

Ludwig van Beethoven – Rondo

Henryk Wieniawski – Legende

Ottokar Novacek – Perpetuum

Igor Stravinsky – Berceuse

Camille Sanit-Saens – Op. 28