When Itzhak Perlman recorded this disc, many critics were surprised by the sobriety and ... more
quiet poetry of his interpretation, as though his many fine chamber-music recordings did not provide ample evidence of Perlman's qualities as a "serious" musician. Although beautifully written for the instrument, Beethoven's sole violin concerto does not offer many opportunities for the kind of virtuoso fireworks that have made Perlman famous. But as all great musicians will, he turned this fact to his own advantage. This sensitive, profound performance has already passed into legend as a classic in every sense of the word. --David Hurwitz
Postage & Packaging:Free! Availability:Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Postage & Packaging:Free! Availability:Temporarily out of stock. Order now and we'll deliver when available. We'll e-mail you with an estimated delivery date as soon as we have more information. Your credit card will not be charged until we ship the item....
Postage & Packaging:Free! Availability:Temporarily out of stock. Order now and we'll deliver when available. We'll e-mail you with an estimated delivery date as soon as we have more information. Your credit card will not be charged until we ship the item....
Recorded live at London's Royal Albert Hall in 1963, this disc brings together three ... more
superb artists for two extraordinary performances. In Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante, with Menuhin conducting, Igor Oistrakh on violin sounds bright and radiant, his father David, on viola, dark and warm; with great charm, brilliance and obvious mutual enjoyment, they play to and off each other in questioning, diverging phrases that come together in triumphant, ecstatic affirmation. Weaving a tapestry of transparent lines, they bring out Mozart's mercurial moods from devil-may-care exuberance and soaring lyricism to despairing lamentation. With David Oistrakh conducting, Menuhin plays the Beethoven concerto. Though he no longer had complete mastery of fingers and bow, the buoyancy of his rhythm, the incandescent intensity of his tone and his deeply personal expressiveness were undiminished. The second movement is simply heavenly: very slow, calm, serene, inward, with a floating, disembodied air, absolutely perfect in tone, tempo, mood, it finally fades into the distance like a dream. His 1947 recording with the Luzern Festival Orchestra under Wilhelm Furtwängler (Testament STB 1109) offers a fascinating comparison. Here, his technique is impeccable, smooth, effortless and, except for the truly incomparable slow movement of 1963, his playing is no less beautiful in tone and moving in expression. As was customary at the time but rare today, Furtwängler constantly changes tempo along with character and dynamics; however, he was famous for his ability to make such liberties sound entirely natural and organic. --Edith Eisler
Postage & Packaging:Free! Availability:Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Advantages: Mutter's eloquence and sensitivity in older recording are enhanced here. Disadvantages: None at all!
As a fantastically talented eighteen-year-old, Anne-Sophie Mutter already awed me with her sensitive and thoughtful eloquence in her 1981 recording of the Brahms violinconcerto (with Herbert von Karajan directing the Berlin Philharmonic). However, there?s an even deeper understanding in Mutter?s reading of the Brahms piece on this newer disc.
This performance was taped live at the Lincoln Center?s Alice Tully Hall, New York City, in 1997. Kurt Masur conducts the New York Philharmonic in particularly inspired fashion. A difference of fifteen years separates the two recordings. In the time between, she married, had children, and then was widowed at a very young age.
When Mutter returned to her instrument, she would bring a greater strength, emotional depth and insight to her playing, lending a maturity and assuredness to her ...
Advantages: Classic Concertos for Everybody Disadvantages: Strings only!!!no woodwind...boo!
prominent.
Thus Vivaldi wrotes sonnets to accompany his music and to establish each thought in his mind.
It is obvious to say then that Concerto is labelled Spring through to Winter, with three movements within each season.
Most form again adopts the ABA construction, a favorite of Vivaldi.
These are as follows:
1: Spring: Concerto No.1 in E Major
Allegro / Largo / Allegro
This I think, is the most well known of the Concertos, and has been used on numerous car adverts and airline adverts. This is what most people remember Nigel Kennedy playing at the very beginning of Nigel Mania!!!!
The string compostion reflects the freshness of spring and depending on what recording you buy (trust me there is loads of
choice!) this normally sells the album, this movement is the most played also by a leading Classical Radio.
2: Summer: Concerto ...
Advantages: The Romances; concerto's third movement. Disadvantages: Tempo, pitch and volume quirks in Concerto.
I never imagined I'd ever down-rate one by Anne-Sophie Mutter for reasons to do with the German violinist herself, but in this case, it just can?t be helped. Two-and-a-half stars are all that this sadly disappointing disc merits from me, an avowed Mutter fan.
Mutter revisits the Beethoven workhorse (the ViolinConcerto) decades after first recording it as a teen, under the guidance of mentor Herbert von Karajan. That version ?distinguishes? itself by being among the slowest out there on disc today. And yet that same performance (tending as it does toward the ponderous) remains more emotionally involving than this, Mutter's more "mature" one.
It?s the second joint effort between Mutter and Kurt Masur and the New York Philharmonic (NYPO), recorded in May 2002 at Avery Fisher Hall, New York City as part of Masur's series of farewell ...
