Bach: Violin Sonatas, Volume 1

Advantages: Thrilling, daredevil chamber music performances from the legendary Martha Argerich and partner-in-crime Gidon Kremer.
Disadvantages: Violinist Kremer occasionally on the mannered, spastic side; only forty-three minutes of music.

...thorough introduction to Martha Argerich, you may want to read my other post (or you may not!): http://www.ciao.co.uk/BachKeyboardWorksReview5359921 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CD Notes: LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770 - 1827) Sonata for Piano and Violin no. 4 in A minor, op. 23 1. (1) Presto 6’56 2. (2) Andante scherzoso più Allegretto 7’20 3. (3) Allegro molto 5’15 Sonata for Piano and Violin no. 5 in F major, op. 24 "Frühlings-Sonate" ["Spring"] 4. (1) Allegro 9’41 5. (2) Adagio molto espressivo 6’02 6. (3) Scherzo. Allegro molto 1’19 7. (4) Rondo. Allegro ma non troppo 6’34 MARTHA ARGERICH, Piano GIDON KREMER, Violin Deutsche Grammophon (P) 1987 43’23 417 787-2 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (Performances for comparison:) From: BEETHOVEN The Violin Sonatas ANNE-SOPHIE MUTTER LAMBERT ORKIS Compact Disc 2 Sonatas op. 23 & op. 24 "Spring Sonata... Read review

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Advantages: Wonderful transcriptions of JS Bach's majestic music; sensitive, tender, vivacious, effortless and fluid playing.
Disadvantages: Nil.

...of the relevant web pages that have links for audio samples (need RealPlayer or Windows Media Player to run): http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000CNEO1G/qid=1144961414/sr=8-1/ref=sr8xsapi1xgl/202-6907497-5376657 http://music.barnesandnoble.com/search/product.asp?z=y&PWB=1&EAN=724355804723 http://www.cduniverse.com/search/xx/music/pid/7008731/a/Bach:+Works+for+Trumpet+%2F+Alison+Balsom,+et+al.htm Well, you can't say you weren't warned: keep your eye (and ear) on Alison Balsom, trumpeter extraordinaire. She has yet to make a splash on this side of the pond, but audiences in the UK and the rest of Europe, South America, the Middle East and Japan have been more fortunately acquainted with Ms Balsom for some years now. I can only hope to catch a live performance in this country - that is, if she ever plans to return to the USA. Ms... Read review

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Advantages: Brilliant, stirring, excitingly unpredictable, fresh performance; "genius" is not hyperbole in Argerich's case.
Disadvantages: Reflecting its LP origins, the CD lasts only 50' 16"!

...sweeps you away with her total mastery of the piece. You enter what might seem like a complex maze, as she traces the oft-changing melodic path dotted with lots of little musical surprises. In a few places, she gradually pumps up the pace and volume leading up to the climax, playing as if relentlessly driven by some unseen force, tossing off those diabolical little trills and mordents with cavalier abandon. I haven’t been this astonished by almost any other performance of Bach. A few (very few) stodgy critics may find her interpretations a bit "excessive," but a colorful, lively and passionate Bach has never been distasteful to me. Her Allemandes and Sarabandes are softer, gentler and more introspective, while she stirs up excitement in the faster sections with both subtle and overt shifts in mood from one phrase to the next, from one... Read review

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