Dmitrij Shostakovich: Violin Concerto N. 2 Op. 129 / Robert Schumann: Violin Concerto in A minor (arr. Shostakovich) - Gidon Kremer, Seiji Ozawa, Boston Symphony Orchestra (1990's)

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Jean Sibelius: Violin Concerto Op. 47 / Christian Sinding Suite for Violin and Orchestra Op. 10 - Itzhak Perlman, Andre Previn, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (1970's)

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For this Recording Itzhak Perlman used the 1714 "Soil" Stradivari.

Johannes Brahms: Violin Sonatas N. 1 Op. 78, N. 2 Op. 100, N. 3 Op. 108 - Itzhak Perlman, Vladimir Ashkenazy (1983)

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Antonin Dvorak: Violin Concerto Op. 53, Romance Op. 11 - Itzhak Perlman, Daniel Barenboim, London Philharmonic Orchestra (1980's)

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Johann Sebastian Bach: Sonatas and Partitas for Violin Solo BWV 1001-1006 - Itzhak Perlman (1987)

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CD 1: Johann Sebastian Bach: Sonata BWV 1001, Partita BWV 1002, Sonata BVW 1003
CD 2: Johann Sebastian Bach: Partita BWV 1004, Sonata BWV 1005, Partita BWV 1006

Itzhak Perlman recorded the Sonatas and Partitas on two great violins: the 1740-41 "Sauret" Guarneri del Gesu', with which he recorded the three Partitas plus Sonata N. 1,


...and the 1714 "Soil" Stradivari, which he used for Sonatas Nn. 2 and 3.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Violin Concerto N. 4 KV 218 / Johann Sebastian Bach: Partita N. 2 for Violin Solo BWV 1004 / Ludwig Van Beethoven: Sonata for Violin and Piano N. 6 Op. 30-1 (Adagio) - Bronislaw Huberman, Bruno Walter, New York Philharmonic Orchestra (KV 218) / Boris Rubakin (Op. 30-1) (1945)

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Johannes Brahms: Violin Concerto Op. 77, Violin Sonata N. 1 Op. 78 - Christian Ferras, Herbert Von Karajan, Berliner Philharmoniker, Pierre Barbizet (Op. 78) (1964)

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Reviews

www.musicweb-international.com


Ferras’s Brahms Concerto has been a generally admired account since its first appearance in 1964. He had an admirer as well in Karajan who is at something approaching his best here, often commandingly sensitive and thematically and textually revelatory. Ferras’ first entry doesn’t however sound fully "centred" and the succeeding orchestral soloists are rather unnaturally forward in the balance. But Karajan is imaginatively effective at 5’15 where he gives real life and meaning to the lower strings’ figure – and he is particularly good here and elsewhere at points of contrastive material, one of his great strengths as a concerto accompanist. Ferras’s vibrato is very fast and rather inclined to the wavery-quavery kind, if I can put it that way, and it has a slightly acidic tonal quality which confers a distinctive patina to his playing. I respect his musicality whilst not being a huge admirer of his tonal qualities.

There is a predictable weight to the orchestral contribution before the first movement cadenza (the Kreisler) and there is a considerable amount of orchestral incident audible, clearly but not officiously elucidated by Karajan and never at the expense of the music’s own internal logic and dynamism. Certainly this is not the quickest performance of the first movement on record but correspondingly it never feels solemnly or unnecessarily slow. The second movement sounds slightly too plush though with rich solos from the orchestral principals and at 3’30 some very saturated string interplay. Ferras’s slightly broken passagework leads to – for once – clearly audible orchestral pizzicatos from 7’20. The soloist is very expressive but not over succulent. It’s true as well that there are some moments of over-perfumed relaxation in the finale which co-exist with moments of dramatic insight and cogent delineation of the musical argument. A sometimes provocative performance then, but not a central recommendation.

The Sonata recording is extracted from the Ferras-Barbizet set of all three. This is a fresh and generous traversal but Ferras displays some of his intensely coiled and wavery vibrato once more which can, even with Barbizet’s excellent support, somewhat vitiate a work of this romantic impress. There is lyric intensity in profusion in the adagio but a lack of tonal opulence. It remains of a piece with Ferras’s interpretation of the Concerto and many will admire the more edgy and nervous insight his kind of playing brings to the romantic literature.

Jonathan Woolf

Ludwig Van Beethoven: Violin Concerto Op. 61, Ouvertures "Name Day", "King Stephan", "Consacration of the House" - Christian Ferras (Op. 61), Herbert Von Karajan, Berliner Philharmoniker (1967)

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Christian Ferras (more info at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Ferras, and, in French at: http://www.associationferras.com/artiste/index.html) used to play the "President" Stradivarius of 1721 and the "Dragonetti-Milanollo" Stradivarius from 1728 (below).

Johannes Brahms: Violin Concerto Op. 77 / Joseph Joachim: Violin Concerto N. 2 "in the Hungarian Manner" Op. 11 - Christian Tetzlaff, Thomas Dausgaard, Danish National Symphony Orchestra (2007)

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Christian Tetzlaff (more info at: http://www.christian-tetzlaff.de/pages_en/01_bio.html) plays a violin by Stefan-Peter Greiner (more info at: http://www.greinergeigen.de/htm/home_e.htm), a contemporary maker.

Karol Szymanowski: Violin Concertos N. 1 Op. 35 and N. 2 Op. 61; Nocturne and Tarantella Op. 28 - Ilya Kaler, Antoni Wit, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra (2006)

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Ilya Kaler plays a violin made in 1998 by Joseph Curtin (more info at: http://www.josephcurtinstudios.com/index.htm), a contemporary maker.


Reviews

www.classicstoday.com
Artistic Quality: 9/10
Sound Quality: 9/10


These two violin concertos comprise some of the finest music for violin and orchestra written in the 20th century. They are very different: the First Concerto (1916) is one of the richest, most decadently gorgeous pieces in the string repertoire; the Second, composed a decade and a half later, has a rugged, earthy, but no less colorful and appealing character, the result of the composer's late interest in Polish folk music. Both have been recorded with reasonable frequency, even though they are hardly as popular or frequently performed as they deserve to be.

This new release should win them many friends, if only because it stands a good chance of remaining available longer than many previous issues. Ilya Kaler is an excellent violinist, and he handles the First concerto's ridiculously high tessitura with complete confidence, secure intonation, and a consistently voluptuous tone. Antoni Wit follows him every step of the way. Tempos, both here and in the Second concerto, are a bit slower then Danczowska's reference edition on CD Accord, but the extra time allows both soloist and conductor to pay particular attention to details of harmony and orchestral color. Certainly the performance never drags or degenerates into a sort of perpetual, dreamy reverie, as sometimes happens in this evocative work.

Kaler adopts an aptly vigorous, gutsy approach to the rhythmically charged Second concerto, taking care to highlight its fertile melodic invention and comparatively extravert character. There's an odd rule in classical music that anything called "No. 2" must be considered less significant than a "No. 1", but the fact is that many listeners may find this piece easier to grasp on a first listen owing to its less rhapsodic, "stream of consciousness" musical language.

The early, impressionistic Nocturne and Tarantella makes an extremely attractive encore, and the sonics, as usual from this source, are very good. I can very easily recommend this disc as a first choice, especially if you find it difficult (or too expensive) to snag the Danczowska/Kord. The performances are distinctive enough in any case to warrant the attention of anyone who cares about this composer. [5/3/2007]

--David Hurwitz


www.musicweb-international.com


On the evidence of this disc Kaler is one of the most distinguished of Szymanowski players. His technique is cast iron, his tonal purity remains intact even in the most vertiginous demands made upon it, and he has a sure and cogent view of the manifold architectural difficulties facing the intrepid interpreter. The concertos make very different – but equally complex – demands on the player as they do indeed of the conductor. Fortunately Kaler has Antoni Wit and the Warsaw Philharmonic alongside. Together a compelling case is made for the concertos, one that easily surmounts questions of price bracket. This is first and foremost a formidably well-played and interpreted brace of performances. The fact that it comes at Naxos’s price makes it only that much more desirable.

In the First Concerto we can note straight away his well focused but yet still silken tone. He avoids tonal exaggeration and disparities between the G and the upper strings in those treacherous high wire acts that Szymanowski calls for. His view is very slightly slower than some – Danczowska/Kord most obviously – but never sounds remotely drawn out. In fact articulation is one of the best features of the recording. So too is the recorded balance, where flute and clarinet are prominent without being unnaturally spotlit. The powerful orchestral argument – the wind chatter, the brass fanfares, the horn calls, the percussive drama – are all assuredly potent in the mixing brew.

Similar excellence attends to the Second Concerto. Tension is powerfully screwed up through sheerly musical means. The blistering bowing demands are met with accomplishment whilst orchestrally the defiant blasts are corralled by Wit with surety. The horns, once again, perform heroically but there’s also lissom and elegant playing to balance the more boisterous passages. In a performance as good as this one the natural heroism and drama of the writing emerges in waves.

There’s an interesting novelty in the shape of the Fitelberg orchestration of the familiar Nocturne and Tarantella. Fitelberg was of course a great champion of the composer but his work borders at points on the generic and even at one or two points worryingly close to a kind of proto-Western music.

That’s a small matter. This release now jumps to the head of the front-runner stakes alongside the Danczowska performances. Older traversals will obviously include Uminska and Oistrakh in No.1, and Wilkomirska in both concertos. But for those who want excellent sound, intelligently argued performances and instrumental finesse then this is a handsome bargain – at whatever price bracket.

Jonathan Woolf

Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst: Othello Fantasy Op. 11, Six Polyphonic Studies for Violin Solo, Elegy Op. 10, Erlkoenig - Ilya Gringolts, Ashley Wass (2006)

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Ilya Gringolts (more info at: http://www.imgartists.com/?page=artist&id=204) plays the 1723 Stradivarius "ex-Kiesewetter".

Reviews

Gramophone
Gramophone Editor's Choice Ernst April 2008


Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst (1814-65), follower and emulator of Paganini, wrote music that’s every bit as demanding and technically spectacular as his mentor’s, but with a very different character. Where the violin of Paganini sings in bold primary colours, Ernst is more ready to explore subtle tones, and this is true even when he turns to Italy for inspiration, in the Othello Fantasy. Ilya Gringolts has the measure of both the virtuosity and the romantic sensibility – his performance of the fantasy is quite outstanding. Unlike Ilya Grubert (Naxos) he doesn’t need to slow down for any of the brilliant variations on the March theme, and plays the lyrical passages with an intense commitment that’s reminiscent of Heifetz.

His imaginative grasp of the music’s expressive character makes for a gripping account of the Elegy (performed complete with its powerful introductory recitative) and the unaccompanied items fare just as well. In the extraordinary transcription of Schubert’s Erlkönig, Gringolts’s playing does have a few rough edges which Leila Josefowicz (Philips, 2/97 –nla) managed to avoid, but he introduces a wider range of tone and expression, and makes the piece seem much more spine-chilling.

The highlight of the disc, however, is surely the Six Studies. One might quarrel with a few details of interpretation – is the Fifth Study a touch too fast? Could the theme for the variations on ‘The Last Rose of Summer’ have been phrased more simply? – but Gringolts’s technical command, beautiful intonation and exciting, deep involvement with the music make for a great listening experience.

Duncan Druce

Johann Sebastian Bach: Sonatas and Partitas for Violin Solo BWV 1001-1006 - Henryk Szeryng (1956)

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CD 1: Johann Sebastian Bach: Sonata BWV 1001, Partita BWV 1002, Sonata BVW 1003
CD 2: Johann Sebastian Bach: Partita BWV 1004, Sonata BWV 1005, Partita BWV 1006

More information about Henryk Szeryng can be found at http://www.henrykszeryng.net/en/main.php and at http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=157348880. A complete discography can be found at: http://www.tanomura.com/music/szeryng/.
Henryk Szeryng played many violins in his life, and it is unknown to me which one he used for this recording. I can only guess that he might have used the only one he kept for himself after retiring (he donated the other ones to various institutions), the 1743 Guarneri del Gesu' "Leduc".

Felix Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto Op. 64 / Max Bruch: Violin Concerto N. 1 Op. 26 - Robert McDuffie, Joseph Swensen, Scottish Chamber Orchestra (1998)

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Robert McDuffie plays a Guarneri del Gesu' made in 1735 named the "Ladenburg".

Johann Sebastian Bach: Sonatas for Violin and Basso Continuo Voll. I & II BWV 1014-1019a, BWV 1021, BWV 1023 - James Ehnes, Luc Beausejour, Benoit Loiselle (BWV 1021, BWV 1023) (2006)

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Vol. I: Johann Sebastian Bach: Sonatas BWV 1014-1017
Vol. II: Johann Sebastian Bach: Sonatas BWV 1018, 1019, 1019a, 1021, 1023

Reviews

Vol. I (BWV 1014-1017)

www.classicstoday.com
Artistic Quality: 10/10
Sound Quality: 10/10

The intelligence, sensitivity, and innate musicality distinguishing violinist James Ehnes' terrific unaccompanied Bach carries over to his first volume of the composer's sonatas with harpsichord. What immediately strikes you is the ideal balance between Ehnes and harpsichordist Luc Beauséjour--not just sonically speaking, but in how they effortlessly proportion their phrases and perfectly synchronize trills, turns, and other ornaments. Beauséjour's discreet and effective registrations complement the subtle variations in Ehnes' tone, especially in slower, sustained writing (the quicker-than-usual A major sonata's Andante is a good example). Also notice how Ehnes manages to project a full, rounded, and beautiful tone even when he employs vibrato sparingly. In other words, Ehnes achieves an organic synthesis of period-instrument practice with the virtues of modern violin technique, all to the music's expressive, dance-oriented good. Among numerous world-class Bach violin sonata recordings of disparate stylistic stripes, Ehnes and Beauséjour deserve room at the top. May their second volume prove equally nourishing. [2/14/2005]

--Jed Distler


Vol. II (BWV 1018, 1019, 1019a, 1021, 1023)

www.classicstoday.com
Artistic Quality: 10/10
Sound Quality: 10/10

Praising these performers' first volume of Bach's violin and harpsichord sonatas, I observed their highly attuned sensitivity and attention to detail on every level, and how violinist James Ehnes brilliantly achieved an organic synthesis of period-instrument conventions with the virtues of modern violin technique. I also spoke of harpsichordist Luc Beauséjour's effective and supportive registrations. All of these positive qualities were enhanced by Analekta's drop-dead gorgeous engineering. These words hold true for Volume 2, whose release completes a cycle that now takes its rightful place as a version of reference.

The performances abound with beauty, intelligence, and expressivity. Take, for example, the F minor sonata's Adagio. The violin part mainly consists of slow-moving chords, surrounded by faster-moving harpsichord lines that alternate between hands. Many violinists pay no attention to the chords' underlying melody, yet Ehnes not only brings it out but also makes it come alive in a vibrant dialogue with the harpsichord. Because the musicians resist the temptation to push Sonata No. 6's opening Allegro into overdrive, the music's inherent swing gains welcome breathing room on the proverbial dance floor. The Largo of the G major sonata with continuo particularly exemplifies Ehnes' ravishing (but never cloying) tone and his ability to control it with equal aplomb in all registers. I should not let cellist Benoît Loiselle's strong presence in the continuo sonatas go unnoticed, nor Guy Richards' scholarly and succinct annotations. This cycle, along with the Sonatas and Partitas, ensures James Ehnes' standing as one of the great Bach violinists of our time, or any time for that matter. [4/27/2006]

--Jed Distler

Johann Sebastian Bach: Sonatas and Partitas for Violin Solo BWV 1001-1006 - Gregory Fulkerson (2000)


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CD 1: Johann Sebastian Bach: Sonata BWV 1001, Partita BWV 1002, Sonata BVW 1003
CD 2: Johann Sebastian Bach: Partita BWV 1004, Sonata BWV 1005, Partita BWV 1006

Gregory Fulkerson plays a Giovanni Battista Guadagnini made in Turin in 1774.


Reviews
www.classicstoday.com
Artistic Quality: 10/10
Sound Quality: 10/10

Gregory Fulkerson may not be the biggest name in the violin business, but he sure plays like it. Here's one set of Sonatas and Partitas that positively revels in the music's virtuoso challenges, and comparisons to those classic sets by Grumiaux and Milstein come immediately to mind. In his very useful and intelligent notes, Fulkerson acknowledges the contributions of the period instrument movement to his understanding of the music, but fortunately there's nothing at all pedantic or self-conscious about his approach. The "big movements", such as the great D minor chaconne or the C major suite's enormous fugue, strike the right balance between bigness of scale and forward impetus, and his intonation never wavers for a moment. The dance movements (check out the first Partita's Corrente and its presto Double) have an infectious rhythmic lilt, and Fulkerson clearly knows how to make his instrument sing Bach's long-limbed lyrical melodies, as in the second sonata's Andante, or the Third's Largo.

The recording places the instrument well back from the microphone, and achieves a remarkably realistic, room-filling impression. It also allows Fulkerson to display his full dynamic range, from a whispered pianissimo to a grandly powerful forte. At two discs for the price of one, this set easily takes its place among the elite versions of these musical monuments to the expressive qualities of the violin.

--David Hurwitz

Johann Sebastian Bach: Sonatas and Partitas for Violin Solo BWV 1001-1006 - Aaron Rosand (1997)

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CD 1: Johann Sebastian Bach: Sonata BWV 1001, Sonata BVW 1003, Sonata BWV 1005
CD 2: Johann Sebastian Bach: Partita BWV 1002, Partita BWV 1004, , Partita BWV 1006

More information about Aaron Rosand: http://www.aaronrosand.com/

Aaron Rosand plays a violin by Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu': the "Ex-Kochanski" of 1741.

Hello and welcome.

I am starting this blog, entirely devoted to the violin.
I will be exclusively posting CD' s from my collection, in lossless formats. I am no advanced blogger, but hope that the quality of my posts will compensate for the scarce looks of my blog.
Files posted here are for previewing purposes only and should be deleted immediately afterwards.
I don' t have a scanner, so I won't be posting full scans of the artwork, but only the covers, if I manage to find them around.
Download links are in the comments.
The files posted are all password-protected and the password reads as my name.

Regards,
Chamaeleo