Gidon Kremer, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sir Neville Marriner - Beethoven: Violin Concerto (2010)

This recording of one of Beethoven's most melodious scores has been a favorite of mine since it first appeared in vinyl many years ago. It has long been superseded in popularity perhaps even critical acclaim by Kremer's later, grander, more conventional effort with Harnoncourt conducting on Teldec. Philips, to my knowledge, never saw fit to re-issue it on CD; it is now beind done so, under license by Arkiv, though preserving the Philips artwork but not the notes. The sound retains the warmth and clarity of the original, bright early-digital recording.
What makes this recording so special? It is lyrically conceived from the first note to the last. Kremer, ably supported by Neville Marriner and the ASMF, are not out to dazzle but to engage. The scale is intimate, the tone is bright and serene, blissful when the violin part ascends into the stratosphere. And then there are the miraculous Schnittke cadenzas. Imagine yourself seated in a very familiar, comfortable room, decorated to your pleasure. Imagine lifting yourself out of your body and looking at it from an entirely different perspective, with all the furniture and bric-a-brac placed where you would least expect it, but nonetheless there, so that enchantingly displaced, you are never dispossed. The vision lingers for a while but miraculously everything falls back in place, you are back in your body, curiously refreshed, comfortable in familiar surroundings. Surprisingly, you were never afraid. This is one way of describing the cadenzas Alfred Schnittke wrote for this concerto and (if my recollection is correct.... again no notes.....) for Kremer, an unstinting advocate of his music. The sound of the cadenzas is simultaneously incongruous and firmly rooted in Beethoven. At times violin is punctuated by tympani, in recollection of the opening bars of the concerto. How the last movement cadenza modulates into the finale is magical.
So, this is a precious recording indeed. Perhaps as an introduction to the piece, the later Kremer, with cadenzas by the violinist himself (based on Beethoven's less successful piano version of the concerto), might be a more appropriate venue. Or for the historically minded, the 1934 Bronislaw Huberman with George Szell conducting the Vienna Philharmonic (cadenzas by Joachim?). But Kremer/Marriner is not a recording to by skipped by lover of the piece, the violin, or the soloist. I am very happy it is now on CD and next to my several other versions of the work.