Igor Oistrakh’s 1963 studio recording of Mozart’s noble E flat Sinfonia concertante with his father David on viola was one of the glories of Decca’s analogue catalogue‚ rivalled only by a live BBC broadcast from the same period that is now available on BBC Legends. Two further alternatives by the same artists (one from Berlin on EMI and an older one with the Moscow Chamber Orchesta‚ nla) aren’t quite so good. This 1998 newcomer happily sees Igor follow his father’s example by switching to viola while his own son Valeri takes the violin part. The results are admirably warm if not as fluid or as tonally distinctive as the earlier versions‚ and certainly not as vividly projected in the accompaniment. The orchestral writing in this Sinfonia concertante is on a par with some of Mozart’s greatest symphonies and cries out for the moulding hand of a perceptive conductor. Both Kyrill Kondrashin (Decca) and Yehudi Menuhin (BBC) facilitate a more alert accompaniment then either Igor does here (where the effect tends to be rather flaccid) or indeed his father did in Berlin‚ though there at least the orchestral playing was more focused. As to the Duos – both are absolute masterpieces – there the rivalry is less acute. Tempi are fairly broad but the blending of voices is consistently effective. I’d still opt for the more elegant Igor and David version of the G major (Decca again)‚ whereas for the B flat memories of the lean but intense Heifetz/Primrose recording persist even through a recollected aural smokescreen of surface noise. Grumiaux and Pelliccia are also superb (in both Duos). The verdict (you’ll notice that I’ve tactfully been avoiding one up to now) is that while the new generation isn’t the equal of the old‚ it still parades a level of musical merit than many a younger player might envy. These are not great performances‚ but they are well worth hearing and the recordings offer them truthful reportage.