PERLMAN, STERN, MINTZ, ZUKERMAN, GITLIS, HAENDEL: LIVE AT THE HUBERMAN FESTIVAL, 1982 (2 CDS)

An extraordinary galaxy of violinists came together in Tel Aviv, in December 1982, for a week of concerts to celebrate the life and vision of Bronislaw Huberman. He was the great Polish violinist, born in 1882, whose Pan-European political beliefs were deeply affronted by the rise of the Nazis in Germany. He spent much of the 1930s trying to get Jewish musicians out of the clutches of Adolf Hitler and in 1936 his efforts resulted in the founding of the Palestine Orchestra which in 1948 became the Israel Philharmonic. Despite being involved in a terrible air crash which might have ended his career, Huberman continued to work on behalf of the orchestra until his death in 1947.

For the Huberman Festival, the Israel Philharmonic’s Indian-born chief conductor, Zubin Mehta, brought together Isaac Stern, Ida Haendel, Itzhak Perlman, Ivry Gitlis, Henryk Szeryng, Pinchas Zukerman and Shlomo Mintz. Four of the violinists each played a ‘season’ comprising Vivaldi’s four concertos ‘The Four Seasons’, a Concerto Grosso for Four Violins (Stern, Gitlis, Haendel, Mintz) and Bach’s ‘Double’ Concerto (Stern, Mintz).

As Tully Potter notes in his commentary for this release, ‘the great virtue of the 1982 Tel Aviv performances is that they feature artists who feel at home with the Israeli orchestra and audience and have nothing to prove: they can simply get on with it and make good music’.

‘With an extraordinary galaxy of violinistic talent plus first-class digital recording, this set must receive an unqualified and enthusiastic recommendation … Detail and focus are admirable … There is a pervading beauty and freshness to the sound … To a quite remarkable degree the performances combine the spontaneity of a real concert with the polish one normally expects in the studio. Obviously the players are deeply committed, yet equally obviously they are enjoying themselves … It seems to me this is a set to treasure for what it is, a rare recorded example of live music-making, where the electricity is consistently at a high voltage.’ Gramophone

CD 1
ANTONIO VIVALDI
Concertos for Violin, Strings and Continuo, Op. 8 Nos. 1-4 ‘The Four Seasons’:
Concerto in E major, Op. 8 No. 1, RV 269 ‘La Primavera’ (Spring)
Isaac Stern, violin
Concerto in G minor, Op. 8 No. 2, RV 315 ‘L’estate’ (Summer)
Pinchas Zukerman, violin
Concerto in F major, Op. 8 No. 3, RV 293 ‘L’autunno’ (Autumn)
Shlomo Mintz, violin
Concerto in F minor, Op. 8 No. 4, RV 297 ‘L’inverno’ (Winter)
Itzhak Perlman, violin

CD 2
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
Concerto in D minor for Two Violins, BWV 1043*
Isaac Stern, violin I
Shlomo Mintz, violin II

ANTONIO VIVALDI
Concerto grosso ,in B minor for Four Violins, Op. 3 No. 10, RV 580*
Isaac Stern, Ivry Gitlis, Ida Haendel & Shlomo Mintz, violins

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
Sinfonia concertante in E flat major for Violin, Viola and Orchestra, KV 364
Itzhak Perlman, violin
Pinchas Zukerman, viola

Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
Zubin Mehta

FIRST RELEASE ON CD OF ALL THE ITEMS ON DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON’S 2-LP SET OF THE 1982 HUBERMAN FESTIVAL