Brahms’ Double Concerto for violin, cello and orchestra is quite a unique work. It demands two equally talented soloists accompanied by the orchestra. Brahms felt anxious about writing for the combination, and treated it a bit jokingly. His friend Clara Schumann was not amused, and neither were the critics after its premiere in 1887. The attempt at a second concerto using the same instrumentation was aborted as a consequence. It was to be Brahms last work for orchestra.
I’m not happy with this recording, I’m not happy with the performance. I can see cellist Siegfried Palm recorded this work already in 1961 with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma della RTV Italiana (Italy’s version of the BBC Symphony Orchestra). After this I refuse to listen however. I rather listen to this in a more decent performance. I seem to remember having seen this live, and being quite impressed.