Nell Gotkovsky-Haydn Violin Concertos No.1 & No.3

[Scion7]

         click cover to enlarge


     Very good album.  Haven't dug this out in some time.  Nonesuch surfaces were hit and miss - this one doesn't interfere during the music.  Not on CD as far as I know.


from Gramophone June 1970

HAYDN. Violin Concertos: No. 1 in C major ; No. 3 in A major, "Melk". Nell Gotkovsky (violin), Toulouse Cham- ber Orchestra conducted by Louis A uriacombe. World Record Club ST968 (29s. 11d.).

Nell Gotkovsky has made a powerful impression in concerts in this country, notably at the Proms, but except in some Barta Duos recorded with Menuhin four years and more ago, she does not appear on any current record. This issue, though not ideal, certainly helps to fill an obvious gap. The firmness and richness of tone, the accuracy of intonation are balm on the ear, but I am less happy about the bathroom acoustic of the recording, which inflates the size of performances which are basically well in scale. <- I disagree, I am pleased with the sound of the album. The Toulouse Chamber Orchestra is a refined well-disciplined body, with no hint of an ad hoc group, such as one might expect, and it says much for Gotkovsky's quality that the direct comparison with Arthur Grumiaux's version of the C major is so evenly balanced—Grumiaux a degree more refined in control of tone, but Gotkovsky matching even Grumiaux's microprecision of intonation. The A major Concerto is otherwise unavailable. It had its first modern performance in Vienna as recently as 1950, and though like Haydn's other concertos it is lightweight in comparison with the symphonies, it contains attractive ideas and some striking double-stopped passages for the soloist.   -E.G.

[Daverz]

She did an excellent Bartok Concerto with Charles Gerhardt (the RCA Classic Film Scores guy) and a pickup orchestra.  There are still used copies at Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Bartok-Violin-Concertos-Gotkovsky-Gerhardt/dp/B000KRYV76