Classical home listening: Ukrainian music from Nathan Milstein to the Proms

The summer hiatus is the time to sample star players of the past and hear how performance styles have changed. The latest release on the Biddulph label, specialists in historic string players, is Nathan Milstein: The US Armed Forces Recordings. Born in Odesa, Milstein (1904-92) left Russia and became an American citizen, also familiar on the concert platforms of Europe. In Massenet’s Méditation from Thaïs – here in two versions – the Ukrainian violinist’s sweetness of tone, elegance and lyrical slides (portamento) define this as playing from another era.

Most of the tracks are short: popular pieces by Wieniawksi, Ravel, Rimsky-Korsakov, mostly recorded in 1944. Milstein’s Brahms A major sonata (with Valentin Pavlovsky, one of three pianists on this album) has an unforced clarity: he claimed not to like the composer’s music, but his airy interpretation might suit modern taste more than it did his critics at the time. Also included are favourites such as Schubert’s Ave Maria, with Arthur Fiedler conducting the RCA Victor Orchestra.

Also check out that other Odesa-born violinist, David Oistrakh, in Recorded Rarities from Melodiya (Biddulph; released earlier this year) – like Milstein a pioneer of modern solo Bach, here playing the G minor sonata.

The Metropolitan Opera, New York, has released (at this stage, digitally only) a live recording of its Concert for Ukraine, held in March, with the Met orchestra and star soloists conducted by the company’s music director, Yannick Nézet-Séguin (Decca Classics/Deutsche Grammophon). The stirring contributions of the Metropolitan Opera Chorus capture the mood of suffering: in Ukraine’s national anthem (with the Ukrainian bass-baritone Vladyslav Buialskyi); in Valentin Sivestrov’s Prayer for Ukraine and in Va Pensiero – the “Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves” – from Verdi’s Nabucco.

The Met strings play Barber’s Adagio and Lise Davidsen performs Richard Strauss’s Four Last Songs. To conclude, the joint Met forces are joined by matchless soloists Elza van den Heever, Jamie Barton, Piotr Beczała and Ryan Speedo Green for the finale of Beethoven’s Ninth. Proceeds will go to charities supporting Ukraine relief efforts.