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4.5
Franz von Vecsey (1893-1935) was a Hungarian violinist who represented an earlier generation of violin artistry than people like Heifetz and Elman. Although he was an almost exact contemporary of Elman and only eight years older than Heifetz, his playing conforms more to a 19th century ethos. More than one contemporary critic called Vecsey's live performances "cold," and listening to this collection one can see why. The playing sounds matter-of-fact, and lacks emotional involvement. Vecsey had excellent digital facility and plays the notes well enough. A couple of his own encore pieces on the record show considerable virtuosity. The Beethoven Sonata Op. 12 No. 3 is the one significant work on the disk and it receives a very good performance, though the style is dated for 1935.The recordings themselves date from the 1920s and 1930s, and the sound is actually not bad at all for the era. However, the originals used for this transcription were quite noisy and it sounds as though nothing much was done to alleviate the pops and ticks, which are extremely numerous.If you're interested in the history of violin performance practice and want to hear a prominent virtuoso from yesteryear, this is an interesting record. It gets about a 2 for sound and a 5 for historical interest = 3+ overall.
