...by which I mean his own arrangement of the Cello Concerto, has just appeared in a truly lovely recording on Onyx played by Philippe Graffin:
http://www.onyxclassics.com/cddetail.php?CatalogueNumber=ONYX4062 (http://www.onyxclassics.com/cddetail.php?CatalogueNumber=ONYX4062)
A welcome oddity. Thanks for the heads up, Alan.
I much prefer the arrangement to the CC itself. (But don't tell anyone!) I've always felt that the CC comes over as rather gruff in places - which the VC version definitely doesn't.
That "gruffness" is part of the appeal of the CC for me, and a refreshing change of pace for Schumann. Think I'll pass on this one.
The only other recording I know of of this arrangement is Kremer's (and I think this recording has some re-orchestrations by Shostakovich!), coupled with Shostakovich's violin concerto no. 2 (same opus number, which must have appealed to the producers behind the recording... may make for an interesting comparison to see just what reorchestrations Shostakovich actually did, I suppose ;) ) (Kremer/Ozawa/Boston SO, on DG from 1994)
Eric
I also have a recording on Ondine (ODE879-2) of the two Schumann VCs. Not sure if this is still currently available.
This is a real interesting find. I only listened to the free sample (very generous at 9:51!). I wouldn't worry about this replacing the cello concerto. The violin's lower register isn't its strong suit. There are several parts that sounds like a boy delivering a speech that should be by a man. I especially wonder what the second movement would sound like.