The Four Seasons

While it may not be the most rewarding way to approach this music in the long run, having four star violinists dish up a season apiece is a lot of fun, especially if you're interested in comparing styles and sounds. Mintz is bright and wiry; Perlman rich, brilliant and intense; Zukerman dark and suave; and Stern has that marvelous, warm, "old-school" sound with an almost vocal vibrato. And the violins of the Israel Philharmonic? They play as though every one of them could step up and take a solo, no doubt because having four luminaries on the stage made them want to give of their best. While the interpretations, individually and collectively, don't offer much that is new or remarkable, the sense of occasion is palpable. DG's live recording, made at the Huberman Festival in Israel in 1982, is nicely balanced and quite atmospheric. --Ted Libbey