Elgar: Violin Concerto; Enigma Variations
In 1932, Menuhin was just 16 and at the very beginning of his international career when Elgar--then a grand old man in his 70s--asked the young virtuoso to record his Violin Concerto. Elgar himself conducted, and the rehearsals went so well that the composer reportedly canceled the last of them and took the young violinist out for a day at the races. The recording that resulted from this remarkable collaboration has remained a classic from the day it was issued. Elgar's conducting is typically direct and unfussy, while Menuhin really does play the pants off of what is without a doubt the longest and most tiring concerto in the romantic repertoire. Of course, the recorded sound is rather limited and no amount of audio restoration can change that, but fans of great violin playing will still find plenty to enthuse about.--David Hurwitz