Beethoven: Violin Concerto; Violin Sonata No 9

Advantages: a new take on a familiar warhorse
Disadvantages: is it worth full price?

...It's unlikely that any music lover who has a good recording of Beethoven's violin concerto on CD (say: Perlman, Grumiaux or Szigeti) would ever say to him or herself: 'boy, I wonder what that sounds like on the clarinet'. In fact, the only people who might would be clarinetists, for they tend to feel (mistakenly, as it happens)that there just isn't enough original repertoire written for their instrument. So here, spanking new, is a Deutsche Grammophon CD offering us an original work in Mozart's Clarinet Concerto and an arrangement of the Beethoven prepared by Russian pianist/conductor Mikhail Pletnev. The soloist is Michael Collins, who plays the familiar Mozart on his basset horn with all the joy and panache we expect. The Beethoven is a different cup of tea. It's difficult to listen to the famous melodies without hearing the fiddle (or... Read review

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Advantages: Everything you could ever want from a classical CD
Disadvantages: none

...Beethoven 5. Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra in A Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 6. Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in E minor Composed by Sir Edward Elgar 7. Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov 8. Concierto de Aranjuez Composed by Joaquín Rodrigo 9. Swan Lake Composed by Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky 10. Symphony No. 9, "From the New World" in E minor Composed by Antonín Dvorák 11. Variations on an Original Theme, 'Enigma' Composed by Sir Edward Elgar 12. Sonata for Piano No. 14, 'Moonlight' in C sharp minor Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven 13. Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in C minor Composed by Sergey Rachmaninov 14. Adagio for Strings Composed by Samuel Barber 15. Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 21, "Elvira M in C Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 16... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

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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