When Jacques Thibaud was killed in an air crash 41 years ago, the musical world lost one of its finest exponents of the French violin school—the very epitome of the grace and elegance with which the French are often credited. His tone, if not large (but not lacking in intensity), was remarkably pure and sweet, his intonation generally flawless, and his cantabile playing (which owed much to his characteristic use of portamento) was, with justification, widely admired.
There are a few hitherto unpublished recordings here—two fine takes in 1930 of Lalo's Fantaisie norvegienne (it's hard to see why these remained unissued), a rather sentimental account of the Andante from Mozart's Piano Concerto, K467 ('Elvira Madigan' for those who can't remember Kochel numbers), and a Swiss live broadcast (made in defiance of a wartime restriction to France) of Lalo's Symphonie espagnole, a work much associated with him, but his two recordings of which (with Sir Landon Ronald and Monteux) were never issued. This last, made when Thibaud was over 60, shows a slight decline in his accuracy—explicable perhaps by his lifelong 'nerves' before playing, and even more by his notorious aversion to practising—but none in his elan and charm. The less said the better about the horribly coarse tone and boxy recording of the orchestra and Ansermet's failure to secure anything like unanimity in the finale.
Looking at the list of the 21 other items, it is noticeable that with only three exceptions these are all arrangements—one or two of distinctly dubious Echtheit, like a Veracini concoction and a much tarted-up Eccles sonata (beautifully played as they are) and a version of the Vitali Chaconne which deviates quite considerably from the original; and it is a surprise to hear two movements from Bach's E major Partita with Schumann's piano accompaniments (discreetly played by Thibaud's long-time partner Tasso Janopoulo). The original violin pieces are the Saint-Saens Havanaise in an affectionate performance, a tender Faure Berceuse and a thinly recorded Fountain of Arethusa by Szymanowski.
For Thibaud's ability to think forward through long phrases one need look no further than the Prelude to Saint-Saens's oratorio Le deluge, for his rhythmic vitality the first Vida breve dance of Falla, for sheer brilliance of bow and finger Mozart's Haffner Rondo (unfortunately marred in its first half-minute by a bad ineradicable scratch) and for plain delight Granados's Danza lenta. It would be hard, also, to resist his captivating Albeniz Malaguena or an ingenious arrangement of Debussy's Minstrels (in which Cortot, at the piano, is insufficiently on his toes to keep up).'