Beethoven - Violin Concerto, Romance in F: Oscar Shumsky

It might not be up with his best, but there's a lot to admire in Oscar Shumsky's performance - one of his last - of Beethoven's concerto.

Composer:  Beethoven 
Repertoire: Violin Concerto in D, et al
Artists: Oscar Shumsky (violin), Philharmonia/Andrew Davis
Rating:  3/5 
Genre: Orchestral
Label: ASV CD RSN 3032

Shumsky’s 1988 recording of Beethoven’s elysian Violin Concerto has a lot going for it. He possesses an ideally lithe tone, and marries the physical and spiritual sides of the work near-perfectly. Davis and the Philharmonia provide musically engaging support, and the recording is commendably spacious and detailed. That said, it was recorded towards the end of Shumsky’s long career, so one has to  allow for the occasional imperfection along the way.