チャイコフスキー&シベリウス: ヴァイオリン協奏曲＜限定盤＞

名手チョン・キョンファを一躍世界の舞台に押し上げた歴史的名盤

シベリウスとチャイコフスキーのヴァイオリン協奏曲を組み合わせたこのアルバムはヴァイオリニスト、チョン・キョンファのデビュー盤です。50年以上にわたり基準となっている録音で、歴史的名盤として広く評価されてきました。発売当時、『グラモフォン』誌の首席評論家だったエドワード・グリーンフィールドから熱烈な賛辞を受けました。1970年にアンドレ・プレヴィン指揮するロンドン交響楽団と、ロンドンのキングズウェイ・ホールで録音されたこの二大協奏曲は、当時22歳だったチョンを一躍世界の舞台へと押し上げました。彼女の演奏は鮮やかさと瑞々しさが素晴らしく組み合わされているだけでなく、両協奏曲を通じて、悲しみから愛、克服、さらに深い決意と強い意志に至るまで、さまざまな感情を見事に表現しています。

「洗練がチョン女史のアプローチの基本だが、それは見事にバランスの取れた録音の質だけでなく、アンドレ・プレヴィンの伴奏、そしてもちろんオーケストラの演奏にも言える…これは深い満足感を与えてくれるレコードであり、録音の質も極めて忠実である」――エドワード・グリーンフィールド(『グラモフォン』誌)
ユニバーサル・ミュージック/IMS

Kyung-Wha Chung was 22 years old when she recorded these two heavyweight concerti in Kingsway Hall with the London Symphony under Andre Previn. It was Chung's debut recording session, held in the wake of her unexpected success in London as a last-minute replacement for Itzhak Perlman. Although the orchestra was not impressed that it was being fronted by the Leventritt Award winning "amateur" as they dubbed her, audiences felt differently, and this little triumph has made a big difference for every Asian classical virtuoso who has followed in Chung's wake. Therefore, London's Tchaikovsky/Sibelius: Violin Concertos is more than just a key early recording for a major concert artist; it is a historical milestone in the field of Asian virtuosi in the Western classical arena. Be that as it may, many recorded "milestones" of various kinds bring with them flaws that we either learn to live with or damn with faint praise. Not this record; it is easy to see why the London audience warmed up to her playing so quickly. Chung's Tchaikovsky concerto begins with a long, generous, continuous flowing line that is simply beautiful to behold. While in technical terms Chung's playing is an amazing combination of crispness and fluidity, it's not the technique that one comes away with here; it's the range of emotions, from sadness to love, to resolve and elsewhere, plus a profound sense of determination and will; that's what Chung has to offer in spades. This is precisely what she brings to these over-familiar, too often played concerti, and she makes them sound fresh again, as though one is hearing them for the first time. The Sibelius concerto warms, melts, breaks, and mends your heart, rather than make you groan, "Not again." To his credit, Previn should pat himself on the back for winning a splendidly sympathetic accompaniment from the London Symphony, although this period in Previn's association with London was one that set off quite a few fireworks on its own account; that Chung was able to collaborate with the orchestra at this stage is to the benefit of posterity. No matter how many recordings you have heard, or currently own, of these two concerti, London's Tchaikovsky/Sibelius: Violin Concertos with Kyung-Wha Chung, Previn, and the LSO is definitely one worth adding to the collection; this "milestone" classical album still feels like a milestone the first time you hear it. This is the original, full-price CD issue of this popular album; later, it was reissued in Decca's The Originals series at mid-price.