Itzhak Perlman plays and conducts Mozart

Itzhak Perlman! Where have you been all my life?! Seriously though, Perlman is a violinist whose work I've largely avoided. I have his Tchaikovsky concerto with Ormandy (very good) and his recording of the Korngold with Previn (shot down by muddy sonics). That's it. I just couldn't trust Perlman. All that treacly, crossover garbage he's recorded a la Yo-Yo Ma, James Galway, and the Three Tenors made me very suspicious. This can't be a serious musician, I thought. Merely a triumph of good marketing. How wrong I was.

I found this CD for cheap at Amoeba for about $3 some months ago. No need to keep that money burning in my pocket. I took a chance and decided to give this CD a good home. I'm glad I did.

Perlman, as expected, is marvelous in the Violin Concerto No.3 that opens up this album. His rich, buttery tone glazes this music with all the warmth and flavor it needs. Where a lot of contemporary violinists play this music as if they're ashamed that their instrument can produce beautifully modulated tones, Perlman just revels in it. Honestly, has any violinist played this work as luciously, as lovingly in the past 30 years? What a relief from all the squawking and scraping one has to suffer today in the name of "authenticity"! This may not be authentic Mozart, but it sure is authentic Mozart.

As good as the Violin Concerto is, the rest of the album is even better. Perlman lets the strings of the Berlin Philharmonic sing their hearts out in the Adagio and Fugue in C minor. From the moment you hear the throb of the basses at the start, Perlman and his Berliners grab you by the throat and seize you by the throat, gripping you all the way until the fugue wends its way to its severe closing cadence.

Finally we have a glowing rendition of the "Jupiter" Symphony to end the program. This has to be one of the finest recordings I've heard of this miraculous work in a long time. Has EMI pulled the ol' switch-a-roo on your's truly? Can this really be the same orchestra in all those anaemic Rattle recordings? Whether it's by virtue of Perlman's podium presence, a superior miking job by EMI, or just sheer good fortune, this recording has to be one of the greatest that the Berlin Philharmonic have made in at least the past decade. The Berliners launch into the work with uncharacterisically lusty and brawny vigor and infuse the work with plenty of blood. Perlman picks just the right tempi for the first movement and it swings along merrily. The second movement is just as lovingly shaped as you could ever hope for. The Menuetto is a just a smidge too fast for my tastes, but still very good. The finale is played with great bravado and ends with a very unauthentic rallentado worthy of Beecham--a great shout for joy. This is a Jupiter that would have made "Uncle" Bruno Walter proud.

I only wish that Perlman weren't so repeat happy. He sounds like he's never come across a repeat he didn't like. Some of them, like the first movement's exposition repeat are welcome. But I wish he had omitted the repeats in the finale. Impeding the flow of the music right when the music seems to say "let's get on with it!" But I have to admit that, while I usually don't care for the repeats, I certainly didn't mind them much while listening.

If Perlman and the Berliners ever record a set of the late Mozart symphonies--or any more Mozart or Haydn--I would snap it up in an instant. This album really changed the way I think about Perlman. If Rattle isn't jealous, he should be.