TCHAIKOVSKY: VIOLIN CONCERTO: “SERENADE MELANCOLIQUE”: “MELODIE.” Pinchas...

TCHAIKOVSKY: VIOLIN CONCERTO: “SERENADE MELANCOLIQUE”: “MELODIE.” Pinchas Zukerman, violin; Israel Philharmonic conducted by Zubin Mehta. CBS masterworks IM 39563 (digital). TCHAIKOVSKY: VIOLIN CONCERTO; “CAPRICCIO ITALIEN.” Vladimir Spivakov, violin; Slovaka Philharmonic conducted by Zdenek Kosler/Vaclav Smetacek. Vanguard VMS-75002. The name-brand recording finds the Zukerman/Mehta duo meticulously traipsing its way through the concerto without infusing it with any noticeable re-creative energy or emotional viewpoint. The Israelis’ ragged orchestral support and the dryish acoustic of Mann Auditorium in Tel Aviv (site of the live recording) cast a pall on the proceedings. On Vanguard’s mid-price issue (a repressing of a Czech Opus original), Spivakov ignites a bonfire under the concerto, mustering a super-romantic temperament, spinning out filigree tone with ease, supplying vibrant tone and a near excess of portamento. Kosler’s accompaniments fade into the background, but the fiddling is of genuine virtuoso caliber.