Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto; Shostakovich: Violin Concerto No. 1

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Though at first glance these two concertos seem an odd coupling, Hilary Hahn offers convincing reasons for pairing them in her scholarly but rather chatty program notes. For the listener, the most important one is her avowed love and affinity for the music, which speak through every note of her performance. At 22, Hahn has developed from an arresting teenage prodigy into a formidable violinist. Her technique is equal to all challenges and so effortless that one forgets about it. Her tone has the directness and intensity of a laser beam and the unblemished purity of fine-spun crystal. This carries over into her style: clear and straightforward, without fuss, external effects, or exaggeration--there is hardly a slide on the whole record. If her playing is rather cool, it's also noble and emotionally so genuine that she can make a popular warhorse like the Mendelssohn sound fresh and new. She takes few rhythmic liberties, but freely changes tempo for mood and expression: the second theme of the first movement is much slower than the rest. The Shostakovich, too, sounds new and different. A repertory staple of all great Russian violinists, it is usually played with a lush tone and unbridled emotionality. Hahn captures the work's bleak, lamentatious despair, the obsessiveness and sardonic irony, but her playing has the sort of fire that burns ice-blue rather than red-hot. It projects a sense of restraint, of pent-up tension and excitement that finally burst out in the cadenza. It is a riveting performance. The orchestra is very good, but often too loud in the Mendelssohn. --Edith Eisler

Tracks:

Thais: Meditation - Nigel Kennedy
Vn Con No.1 in g, Op.26: Adagio - Kyung Wha Chung
Con No.4 in f, RV 297 'Winter': Largo - Alan Loveday
Con in d, BWV 1043: Largo, Ma Non Tanto - Henryk Szeryng/Maurice Hasson
Adagio in E, K.261 - Henryk Szeryng
Vocalise, Op.34 No.14 - Akiko Suwanai/Philip Moll
Vn Con in D, Op.77: Adagio - Joshua Bell
Vn Con: Andante - Joshua Bell
Melodie - Arthur Grumiaux/Istvan Hajdu
Vn Son No.5 in F, Op.24 'Spring': Adagio Molto Espressivo - Itzhak Perlman/Vladimir Ashkenazy
Vn Con in D, Op.35: Canzonetta: Andante - Leila Josefowicz
Songs My Mother Taught Me, Op.55 No.4 - Arthur Grumiaux/Istvan Hajdu
None But The Lonely Heart - Josef Sakonov
The Gadfly: Romance - Alexander Kerr

Tracks:

Romance No.2 in F, Op.50 - Arthur Grumiaux
Vn Con in E, BWV 1042: Adagio - Midori
Salut D'amour - Kyung Wha Chung/Philip Moll
Ave Maria, D.839 - Arthur Grumiaux/Istvan Hajdu
Con in a, RV 522: Larghetto - Midori/Pinchas Zukerman
Son in D, Op.1 No.13: Larghetto - Iona Brown
Vn Con No.3 in G, K.216: Adagio - Arthur Grumiaux
Liebesleid - Joshua Bell/Paul Coker
Vn Con in e, Op.64: Andante - Kyung Wha Chung
Souvenir D'un Lieu Cher, Op.42: Melodie - Akiko Suwanai/Philip Moll
Vn Con in d, Op.47: Adagio Di Molto - Kyung Wha Chung
Vn Con in D, Op.35: Romance: Andante - Chantal Juillet
Standchen, D.957 No.4 - Arthur Grumiaux/Istvan Hajdu
Estrellita - Arthur Grumiaux/Istvan Hajdu
Orchestral Ste No.3 in D, BWV 1068: Air ('Air On A G String') - ASMF/Neville Marriner

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful.......2005-11-07

An excellent compilation of folk tunes and violin concerto adagios, played masterfully by some of the world's most revered musicians. Features modern pieces (Korngold, Barber), which are a personal favorite of mine.

Thanks you Decca.......2005-01-23

My daughter is a violin student of 7 years and she has played 3 or 4 of these pieces for recitals. I bought the CD's so she could become familiar with the pieces as she was learning to play them. Now I find myself listening to the CD's almost every night when I go for my end of the day drive to relax. My favorites are the Mozart Concerto in G, the Mendelssohn Concerto in E minor and Beethoven's Romance in F on disc 2, but all the songs are exquisitely beautiful. I highly recommend it.

Exquisite music for the soul.......2004-06-14

These CDs have the most incredible selections of music on them. Listening to the violins has enabled me to complete papers for my doctoral level classes without the usual neck aches. This is soothing, exquistie music for the soul! Lovely!!

Indeed a joy forever!.......2003-05-22

Before buying this 2 CD set,I've read Reviews by Chicagodreamer,
who rated it as "Highly, highly recommended." His laudatory recommentation, I must say, is found "well justified."

Exquisite collection & performances, unbelievable value!!!.......2002-01-15

"Over 2 l/2 hours of the world's most beautiful music." These words on the cover are very close to true. What an incredible value this collection is!! So many of these compilations of this sort are cheaply produced, and those "greatest hits" collections are one trite piece after another -- after a while one runs screaming to the stereo to shut it off. However, this collection is top-notch, and the performers they chose are masterful musicians at the top of their game. Every selection is lovely, each one unfolding after the other in a sublime slide show of exquisite compositions performed by legends. This is TWO CDs of sparkling performances composed and performed by masters. There is not a bad selection or a piece of inferior quality in the entire lot.

The violin is an extraordinary instrument that, when played correctly, can pluck the heartstrings and stir the soul. It is played perfectly by each puppetmaster on each one of these wonderful pieces, and the experience of listening to this collection is an exquisite journey for the heart and spirit. Looking for a fantastic collection of exquisite pieces written and performed by genius? It's here. Highly, highly recommended!!

Violin Concertos
Average customer rating:

Mendelssohn, 3rd Movement

Amazing technique

Very special promise and a glittering technique

Competent technique, but Hahn's sound production is just plain bad

A young virtuoso makes a gritty piece her own

Violin Concertos
Hahn , Mendelssohn , Shostakovich , and Opo
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music
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Hilary Hahn ~ Brahms · Stravinsky - Violin Concertos

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Paganini: Violin Concerto No. 1; Spohr: Violin Concerto No. 8

Mozart: Violin Sonatas K. 301, 304, 376 & 526

ASIN: B00006LWQH
Release Date: 2002-11-05

Tracks:

Allegro Molto Appassionato
Andante
Allegretto Non Troppo - Allegro Molto Vivace
Nocturne. Moderato
Scherzo. Allegro
Passacaglia. Andante
Cadenza
Burlesque. Allegro Con Brio

Amazon.com

Though at first glance these two concertos seem an odd coupling, Hilary Hahn offers convincing reasons for pairing them in her scholarly but rather chatty program notes. For the listener, the most important one is her avowed love and affinity for the music, which speak through every note of her performance. At 22, Hahn has developed from an arresting teenage prodigy into a formidable violinist. Her technique is equal to all challenges and so effortless that one forgets about it. Her tone has the directness and intensity of a laser beam and the unblemished purity of fine-spun crystal. This carries over into her style: clear and straightforward, without fuss, external effects, or exaggeration--there is hardly a slide on the whole record. If her playing is rather cool, it's also noble and emotionally so genuine that she can make a popular warhorse like the Mendelssohn sound fresh and new. She takes few rhythmic liberties, but freely changes tempo for mood and expression: the second theme of the first movement is much slower than the rest. The Shostakovich, too, sounds new and different. A repertory staple of all great Russian violinists, it is usually played with a lush tone and unbridled emotionality. Hahn captures the work's bleak, lamentatious despair, the obsessiveness and sardonic irony, but her playing has the sort of fire that burns ice-blue rather than red-hot. It projects a sense of restraint, of pent-up tension and excitement that finally burst out in the cadenza. It is a riveting performance. The orchestra is very good, but often too loud in the Mendelssohn. --Edith Eisler

Customer Reviews:

Mendelssohn, 3rd Movement.......2006-10-30

Hilary Hahn has a great technique. I loved her Bach even more than Grumiaux's. I figured you couldn't lose with the stuff she uses. I was wrong. What in the world did this young lady do to the 3rd movement of the Mendelssohn? Did she have to run off to the loo or something? I bet the conductor's arm nearly fell off when she sprinted away. She lost all clear articulation when she did that and she also lost the orchestra in a couple of places. As a violin teacher, I would have to tell her to come back to that passage and play it again, slower, and with some clear articulation.
It was so rushed I couldn't catch up enough to hear some music. It looks I'm going to keep listening to the old guys on this one ;-). Isaac Stern's and Fritz Kreisler's have left pleasant memories.

Amazing technique.......2006-07-19

This is probably the most virtuosic and technically dazzling recording of the Mendelssohn I've ever heard. Unfortunately, it was too fast (particularly in the third movement) to convey much depth. The opening of the third movement is one of the most dramatic in the entire repertoire, but the drama/suspense was killed because she rushed through it. Even the timing is off - she suddenly speeds up for no apparent reason shortly after the tempo change, immediately before the introduction of the theme. Mendelssohn wrote the opening to create a sense of anticipation about the presentation of the theme, but this anticipation is not conveyed in Hahn's recording because she speeds through it and doesn't even hold a steady tempo. That was my biggest complaint about the recording, although the rest of it seems to be primarily about displaying her impressive technique, rather than playing with any real depth. As mentioned in other reviews, Heifetz's famous recording is a great example of a virtuosic and moving performance of this piece. Hahn's falls short in this regard. In any case, my favorite recordings of this concerto are Midori's live performance with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Salerno-Sonnenberg's.

Very special promise and a glittering technique.......2005-11-01

The other reviewers here have touched on many points that don't need repeating about Hilary Hahn's silvery tone, exemplary technique, and fresh approach. Hearing her in perosn makes clear that she has charisma, a special gift of communication with the audience that keeps an entire concert hall silent while she plays. Her tone is rather small, very sweet, and naturally lyrical. She makes no attempt to produce a fat virtuoso sound.

This would seem to work agaisnt her in the Shostakovich, which is dominated by the classic interpretation from Oistrakh, biggest of all big violinists. But Hahn makes something different of the Shostakovich First Concerto, turning her back on its very Russian black sorrow and biting irony. The orchestra still sounds that way, but Hahn herself becomes a lone voice of lyrical balm, and the contrast is very convincing. Oistrakh was such a powerhouse in the long cadenza at the end of the slow movement that every other violinist since has been tempted to try the same huge approach. Hahn is penetrating, gritty, and wiry instead--it's the only time she allows herself actual grit. Her finale is mercurial, more positive emotionally than the usual biting slashes one hears from everyone else.

The Mendelssohn is lightness and lyricism all the way, which means that Hahn misses many chances for depth and inward phrasing such as Menuhin famously found in his classic postwar recording with Furtwangler (EMI). Hahn's mercurial swiftness becomes pure delight in the very fast finale, and her feminine sparkle (I mean that as a high compliment) results in a captivating performance that holds one's interest from first to last. Highly recommended in both works.

Competent technique, but Hahn's sound production is just plain bad.......2005-08-08

I listened to the first movement of the Shostakovich, and found myself, as I have very rarely, feeling disgust for the sound of the solo violin. Suddenly the sound of Hanhn's playing, which at first was merely thin, as it would be for the rest of the piece, became something that made me push the stop button at once, for it was, I have to say, intolerable. It was the same feeling I had when listening to Tchaikovsky's pathetique being performed on a theremin (the instrument with the thin, shrill, mosquito-like buzz you hear on the Beach Boy's "Good vibrations" and countless "B" horror and sci-fi movies from the 50's), just plain disgusting. As they say in the business, sound production is just plain horrible. Whats worse is that it happens in the easy parts, in the long melodious parts, not in the ones that require the violinist to show off his technical virtuosity. I can almost feel the horsehair in Hanhn's bow just slipping on the strings, instead of pulling them enough to make them vibrate and produce that full sound that is the trademark of masters like Kogan, Oistrakh and Szigeti. And this weak slipping is also the cause of her thin sound.

Hahn to me has a passable, if not competent, tecnique, aparent in the way she deals with the difficult parts of the concerto, but her playing is almost totally lacking in energy and passion, something made obvious by the thin sound of her playing. But no less a violin luminary than Heifez also had the same problem, though not in the same degree. But Heifez, I have to say, with apologies for his many admirers, had more serious problems - he made romantic music, like Strauss's violin sonata, sound pathetic in exaggerated sentiment (the pesky violinist in certain folksy restaurants come to mind). At least Hahn's tries to PLAY with the music - playing as in interacting with the printed notes and the character of the composer and the feeling he imprinted on his music, second guessing him or giving the music her own interpreation.

But the major problem, the thin sound, remains and here Hahn goes lower than Heifez. The violin was born of neccessity, as music left the ornate halls of European chateaus for more open, public places, where a more powerful sound was required to have the same effect on the more numerous listeners in the audience. That's why, when it began to spread from Italy, snobbish purists (who had privileged access to royal courts, of course) looked down on it, to the point that a Frenchman of the 18th century wrote a satire in which the violin appeared as the leader of a band of Italian barbarians (consisting of the new violoncello and countrebass) conspiring to take over the exclusive concert halls of Europe (see Weiss and Tarkuskin's "Music in the Western World"). So a thin sounding violin is almost an oxymoron, unless, like many snobbish purists in the present (the kind who behave as if they knew how Bach, Mozart and Beethoven wanted their music performed), one is looking for the intimate experience of virtually digging out the sound of the solo violin using tube amplifiers and other expensive audio equipment. Even then, as I wrote before, a thin sound is almost always the product of a lack of passion and energy in the violinists' part, so all that expense will be for nothing (unless the recording is to blame, but that is another matter).

By the way, why all this partisanship about reviews? It doesn't seem ok to me to vote against a review MERELY because you don't agree with what it says. Don't you all think that it would be better to trash those reviewers who merely express their opinions , not bothering to explain why they don't like (or do like) a product?

I can't finish without saying that I don't agree with these sexy covers. Even if some girl with the looks of Isabelle Huppert in her prime had appeared on it, winking like a dancer from some Parisian house of ill repute and showing enough cleavage to make Mae-Nicholson and Mutter blush, if Huppert's playing had been thin, I would rather pierce my eardrums than proclaim her playing is as good as it gets.

A young virtuoso makes a gritty piece her own.......2004-07-28

About two years ago I first heard Hilary Hahn do the Shostakovich live -- and liked it so much that I heard her perform it again a few weeks later. For someone so young, she really has an incredible measure of what the work is about. (Let's hope when she is older she will record it again.) Aside from her (apparently) note-perfect reading, she plays it a bit cool with her interpretation, which some have felt as an indicator that she is a bit young for this difficult work. I don't quite agree: her seeming reticence only emphasizes the more sorrowful passages in the piece, and this work is chock-full of those.

Hahn blazes through the final pages with amazing energy, and at times it seems that Marek Janowski and the Oslo Philharmonic will be hard pressed to keep up with her -- but they do, winningly. The Mendelssohn is also engaging, if as some have noted, the coupling of these two concerti might seem a bit odd. (I confess that as a piece I prefer the Shostakovich.) Never mind. Here conducted by the excellent Hugh Wolff, Hahn brings out the poetry and melodic invention that makes this work so enormously popular. And it could be argued that its relative sweetness makes a nice contrast to the violence of the Shostakovich.

Sony's sound is very good -- no complaints. Hahn is rapidly mowing down staples of the violin repertoire and proving she is one of the best violinists around. If you like these pieces, here is a great opportunity to hear for yourself.

Average customer rating:

A Vengerov Sampler: Life is just a box of chocolates....
Over hyped former prodigy
vengerov is the best
virtuoso vs. choice of music ?
Definitely a Five-Star Violinist

Maxim Vengerov - The Road I Travel
Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky , Franz Waxman , Johannes Brahms , Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , Felix Mendelssohn , Ludwig van Beethoven , Jules Massenet , Dmitry Shostakovich , Israel Philharmonic Orchestra , Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra , Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra , London Symphony Orchestra , Zubin Mehta , Mstislav Rostropovich , Kurt Masur , Claudio Abbado , Itamar Golan , Maxim Vengerov , and Aleksandr Markovich
Manufacturer: Teldec
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Vengerov
Vengerov and Virtuosi
Virtuoso Vengerov
Brahms: Violin Concerto; Sonata No. 3
Bruch/Mendelssohn: Violin Concertos

ASIN: B000000S9Z
Release Date: 1997-04-01

Tracks:

Souvenir d'un lieu cher, Op. 42: Melodie No. 3
Carmen Fantasie
Violin Sonata No.2 In A Major, Op. 100: Andante tranquillo - Vivace
Violin Concerto In D Major, Op. 35: Canzonetta: Andante
Violin Sonata In B Flat Major: Allegro moderato
Violin Concerto In E Minor, Op. 64: Allegro molto appassionato
Violin Sonata No. 5 In F Major 'Spring' Op. 24: Rondo. Allegro ma non troppa
Meditation from Thais
Violin Concerto No.1 In A Minor, Op. 77: Burlesque -Allegro con brio

Customer Reviews:

A Vengerov Sampler: Life is just a box of chocolates...........2005-08-16

For some reason I have always been averse to recordings of single movements from other disparate recordings which usually makes the spotlighted artist seem a bit crass and commercial. But amazingly enough this THE ROAD I TRAVEL featuring Maxim Vengerov is anything but that! Perhaps it is just that this young violinist weaves such a spell that little tidbits from here and there seem justifiable: then perhaps it is just a forgiving ear that can jump around his 'Road' and share the good memories.

The selections vary from concerto movements from Shostakovich, Mendelssohn, and Tchaikovsky to movements from sonatas by Beethoven and Brahms to oddities like the Franz Waxman 'Carmen Fantasia'. Different conductors and orchestras and pianists partner each excerpt. But it just comes together. This is a fine recording for friends who don't understand the fanaticism of Vengerov's following. It makes a fine calling card for the virtuoso! Grady Harp, August 05

Over hyped former prodigy.......2005-02-10

Maxim is a over hyped former child prodigy. Among his generation, Gil Shaham, Joshua Bell, Kyoko Takezawa, Chee Yun, Christian Tetzlaff's intonation and music are more pleasing to my ears. Why I cannot find Kyoko and Chee Yun's records.

vengerov is the best.......2004-09-02

Wow... I've been a huge fan of Vengerov's for about 6 years now, but he continues to surprise me. When I first heard him play, I thought he was the best romanticist I had ever heard, but he probably wouldn't be good at much else. Then I heard him play unaccompanied Bach on a period instrument, and it was pristine. I had never heard him play any classical music, but thought that there was NO WAY someone could be a master of all three broad musical styles, but once again Vengerov surpasses my EXTREMELY lofty expectations and proves that he is a master of the classical style as well. These recordings of Mozart's sonatas are among the best i've ever heard, in every way. His technical proficiency is beyond reproach, and his style is flawless from beginning to end. This CD makes me want to dust off all of my Mozart sonatas and start playing them again!! I purchased this disc for the sole purpose of hearing Vengerov play Mozart, and I'm thrilled that I did so. This is another new Vengerov purchase that is easily one of my favorite CDs in my collection. I'm beginning to think that he can do no wrong!

virtuoso vs. choice of music ?.......2004-02-12

While the violinist was excellent I thought his choice of music was not. I only recognized two or three of the selections that were offered on this CD. Needless to say I was a bit disappointed that he had not chosen more recognizable selections. Since I purchased this CD because of the "Meditation"piece from "Thais" I suppose I got what I wanted but, nevertheless I am still disappointed in the CD as a whole. I suppose it is alright for someone with more esthetic tastes than mine. As for Vengerov "B R A V O"!!!

Definitely a Five-Star Violinist.......2003-05-30

And this CD is one of his best. Be sure the bass on your system is turned up and get ready to spend one of the most enjoyable hours of your life.

Classical Music Start-Up Kit, Vol. 2: 1825-1945

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Classical Music Start-Up Kit, Vol. 2: 1825-1945

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Waltzes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

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Classical Music Start-Up Kit, Vol. 1 (1500-1825)
Prehistoric Art (Art in History)
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Ancient Egyptian Art (Hodge, Susie, Art in History.)
The Instruments of Classical Music, Vol. 6: The Cello

ASIN: B00005YCX6
Release Date: 1996-01-04

Tracks:

Scherzo - Jeno Jando
Waltz In C# Minor - Peter Nagy
Song Without Words, Op.102, No.5 - Peter Nagy
'The Fountains Of The Villa D'Este' - Jeno Jando
Scherzo - Jeno Jando
'March To The Scaffold' - Pinchas Steinberg
Finale - Adrian Leaper
Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 (Excerpt) - Adrian Leaper
The Moldau (exc) - Slovak PO/Barry Wordsworth
Final Movement Of Symphony No.9 'From The New World' - Stephen Gunzenhauser
'Bydlo' - Jeno Jando
'Flight Of The Bumblebee' - Balazs Szokolay
'Polovtsian Dances' - Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra
Finale - Adrian Leaper
Finale - Takako Nishizaki
'Liebestod' - Johannes Wildner
Finale - Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra
Intro To Also Sprach Zarathustra - Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra
Uranus, The Magician - Adrian Leaper
'Jeux De Vagues' - Alexander Rahbari
'Sunrise' - Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Chorus
Adoration Of The Earth (Finale) - Alexander Rahbari
March From Love For Three Oranges Suite, Op.33: March - Andrew Mogrelia
Scherzo - Alexander Rahbari
Finale - Alexander Rahbari

The Essential Hyperion (Label Highlight Compilation)

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A MUST BUY!!!
Great music, Excellent Value!
This truly is essential!

The Essential Hyperion (Label Highlight Compilation)
Henry Purcell , Charles Villiers Stanford , Sheppard, John , Haydn, Joseph , Satie, Erik , Schumann, Robert , and Shostakovich, Dmitri
Manufacturer: Hyperion UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Essential Hyperion, Vol. 2
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Essential Purcell

ASIN: B000002ZDX
Release Date: 1995-02-13

Tracks:

Concerto For Two Trumpets, 1687: Allegro
Abdelazer: Rondeau
Who Can From Joy Refrain?: A Prince Of Glorious Race
The Morning: The Glitt'ring Sun
The Ephesian Matron, Or The Widow's Tears: Vaudeville
Magnificat In G
Libera Nos
Cantigas de amigo: My Love's Coming Home
My Lady, You Do Great Wrong
Locus iste
Symphony No 14 In A: Tempo di Minuetto
Symphony No 94 In G (The 'Surprise' Symphony): Finale
Gymnopedie No. 1: Gymnopedie No. 1 (Orchestrated By Debussy)
Liederkreis op. 39: Waldesgesprach
Album Leaf In Waltz Form
Prelude And Fugue In A, Op. 87, No. 7
Phil The Fluter's Ball
Piano Concerto In C Sharp Minor, Op. 30: Allegro
O salutaris hostia
Da quel sembiante, D. 688, No. 3
Sonata In G Minor, Op. 5, No. 5: Vivace
Clarinet Quartet No 1 In E Flat, Op. 2: Rondo
String Sextet In A, Op. 48: Furiant
Sherzo In A minor, Op. 81, No. 2
Come You, Mary, Op. 21, No. 2
Chorale Prelude 'Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g' mein'
Deus in adiutorium
Sortie In E Flat

Customer Reviews:

A MUST BUY!!!.......2001-03-03

If I had to choose one CD to spend a month locked in isolation with, this would be the one. Its varied but it flows well together. It's restive and soothing. The quality is beyond excellent!!! At the price, anyone is a fool not to own it, and give it lavishly as gifts. Its gorgeous, lush and fabulous! Everyone that hears it in our home, falls in love with it!

Great music, Excellent Value!.......2000-07-26

Rarely can one buy so much good music for so little. This compilation features almost 80 minutes of high quality music.

This truly is essential!.......1999-10-23

What a brilliant idea from one of our leading record companies! On this disc, they have assembled a programme of highlights from their vast collection of choral, vocal, orchestral, and solo instrumental music that is very satisfying. As with most CDs of this sort, it is a case of some tracks not appealing as much as others- I for instance am a lover of choral music so the gorgeous renditions of Stanford's "Magnificat" by St. Paul's Cathedral Choir or John Sheppard's divine motet "Libera Nos" by the Sixteen are obvious preferences of mine. However, whether you seek dyed-in-the-wool orchestral classics as Haydn's "Surprise" Symphony, less familiar works performed by period artists (such as "'E irei Madr'a Vigo" by ancient Spanish composer Martin Codax), or snippets of breathtaking instrumental solos (such as the rousing performance of Lefebure-Wely's "Sortie in E flat" which is sadly only an excerpt), this disc is bound to have something on it for you. And all of it is finely recorded.

Average customer rating:

Technique Over All
Ebullient Mendelsohn, probing Shostakovitch

Violin Concertos (Ms) (Sl)
Hahn , Mendelssohn , Shostakovich , and Opo
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
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Brahms, Stravinsky: Violin Concertos [SACD]
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Mozart: Violin Sonatas K. 301, 304, 376 & 526
Mozart: Flute Concertos; Rondo; Andante [Includes the Bis 2005 Catalog] [Hybrid SACD]

ASIN: B00006NSFW
Release Date: 2002-12-10

Customer Reviews:

Technique Over All.......2006-11-10

Miss Hahn has incredible virtuosity; some of the things she does here are/were not available even to Heifetz. Particularly, the down-bow stacatto passages in the first movement of the Mendelssohn have not been heard to such advantage before.

To each his/her own regarding intensity; the opening of the Mendelssohn has been performed with more power by several. This causes my rating of four rather than five stars.

Summing; very good, possibly exceptional to many. The SACD sound is superb.

Ebullient Mendelsohn, probing Shostakovitch.......2003-08-12

Hilary Hahn is really quite astonishing! Start with the pacing of the Mendelsohn. The first and third movements are among the fastest performances I have yet heard, but because she articulates every note so clearly, it never sounds rushed - simply mercurial! This is beautifully, beautifully done. Tonal colors are like a fireworks display - kaleidoscopic and tailored to each phrase.

The Shostakovitch is probing. From the outset the violin tone settles into an otherworldly quality that suggests unspeakable tragedy. Moving through a searing second movement into the Passacaglia, Ms. Hahn, for all her beauty of tone and sensitivity of phrasing is let down a little by a relatively impotent orchestral brass section. I heard her do this concerto in Carnegie Hall with the Royal Concertgebouw orchestra and I so wish she had been able to do this recording with them. Their low brass opened the Passacaglia movement with a menacing snarl not even suggested here. That set off and contrasted perfectly with the sweet open tone of the violin, as it transformed the menace of the horns into the soul-wrenching soprano soliloquy Shostakovitch intended.

Hahn does her part but the Oslo orchestra or the recording does not. The burlesque however, makes up for any previous shortcomings and overall, I advise everyone to buy this SACD.

I have to admit I heard Vadim Repin (also a wonderful performer) and the Czech Philharmonic in Carnegie do this same concerto and Repin was similarly let down by the Czech Philharmonic as was Hahn by the Oslo Orchestra in the Passacaglia as compared with the Concertgebouw, so it probably wasn't the recording so much as the orchestra. Interestingly, Hahn was, and in this recording is, intense where Repin (that night, at least) was cool. I would have expected otherwise.

Tracks:

Quoniam, b Mass: Brandenburg Con No. 1
Sym No. 3
Sym No. 6
Sym No. 7
Sym No. 9
Fidelio Ov
Sym No. 1
Sym No. 2
Sym No. 3
Sym No. 4
Pno Con No. 2
Sym No. 1
Nocturne
Sym No. 5
Don Juan
Ein Heldenleben
Till Eulenspiegel
Sym No. 4
Sym No. 5
Siegfried's Hn Call

Customer Reviews:

Essential listening for serious horn students.......2002-10-15

It is not often that one has the chance to hear one of the world's great principal hornists play many of the prominent orchestral solos up close. This CD provides a wonderful opportunity to listen to the technical and interpretational qualities that are needed to play in a top notch professional orchestra!

Know what you're buying!.......2001-05-15

The consumer who rated this CD with one star was obviously not paying attention when he or she ordered it. Orchestral "excerpts"? Hello!?! This is a CD for the instruction and enjoyment of the horn player. It is _not_ a CD of full symphonies in which the horns just happen to be playing. Don't blame the CD or its author for your ignorance!

5 star performance.......2001-02-19

This CD does not deserve 1 star!!! If you are a horn player who cares about any kind of music expression at all, you will like this CD. He simply tells you how to feel the music. This CD is especially useful to horn players that will be auditioning for a University, Orchestra, or music conservatory. I highly recommend this CD for any horn player who CARES ABOUT MUSIC EXPRESSION. I still do not see how it is humanly possible to give a CD with so much music interpretation one star!!! The nerve!

Orchestral Excerpts for Horn by A. David Krehbiel.......2000-09-29

If you enjoy sitting back and listening to your latest classical CD acquisition, you will not want this one!!

It may not be listed in the album's description, but this is a lecture on music, with the music used as exeplary of the monologue.

If you want a nice music lecture, this is fine, but if you just want orchestral horn music by Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, et al. STEER CLEAR OF THIS CD.

A Horn Player's Essential!.......2000-06-12

This cd is perfect for the aspiring horn player. Not only does the horn-god Krehbiel magnificently play these famous excerpts, he talks about them and the feelings behind the melodies. He tries to convey in words as well as by example, an interpretation of how they can be played. This cd is a wondrous compilation of the basic symphonic horn repertoire and should accompany any horn player practicing for auditions. Buy this cd and you won't be sorry!

Average customer rating:

A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC

Essential Violin

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

The Decca Records Store | Specialty Stores | Music
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Masters of the Bow
Essential Bach
Essential Guitar: 33 Guitar Masterpieces
Essential Mozart: 32 Of His Greatest Masterpieces

ASIN: B0000B0A0E
Release Date: 2003-09-09

Tracks:

I. Allegro - Alan Loveday
Meditation - Nigel Kennedy
III. La Campanella - Ruggiero Ricci
Vocalise, Op. 34 No. 14 - Akiko Suwani
II. Adagio - Joshua Bell
II. Largo Ma Non tanto - Henryk Szeryng
Tzigane - Joshua Bell
Salut D'Amour, Op. 12 - Kyung Wha Chung
Scherzo-Tarantelle, Op. 16 - Ernest Lush
Introduction Et Rondo Capriccioso - Joshua Bell
Kreisler - Joshua Bell
Kreisler - Joshua Bell
II. Romance - Joshua Bell
Romance - Alexander Kerr

Tracks:

Preludium And Allegro (In The Style Of Gaetano Pugnami) - Joshua Bell
Romance No. 2 In F major, Op. 50 - Arthur Grumiaux
Ave Maria, D839 - Arthur Grumiaux
I. Allenande - Kyung Wha Chung
IV. Gigue - Kyung Wha Chung
Caprice No. 13 In B Flat Major, Op. 1 'Devil's Laughter' - Ruggiero Ricci
III. Allegretto Non Troppo - Allegro Molto Vivace - Josuha Bell
II. Largo - Alan Loveday
II. Canzonetta: Andante - Kyung Wha Chung
Les Bereaux, Op. 23 No. 1 - Arthur Grumiaux
Zigerunerweisen, Op. 20 - Joshua Bell
Adagio In E Major For Violin And Orchestra, K261 - Mayuni Fujkawa
III. Melodie - AAikoko Suwann
Lalo: V Rondo: Allegro - Kyung Wha Church
Hungarian Dane No. 1 - Kyung Wha Chung

Customer Reviews:

A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC.......2007-06-11

GREATEST VIOLIN MUSIC THAT YOU CAN FEEL THE PASSION OF THE ARTIST COME THUR. GREAT INTRODUCTION TO A BUDDING MUSICIAN AND DEVELOPING THE APPECIATION OF THE GREAT CLASSICS OF OUR TIME THUR THE GREAT MUSIC

Average customer rating:

nice little collection for the $ and occasion

For After Hours

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music

Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

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For Guilty Pleasures
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For a Stormy Night

ASIN: B000294RGC
Release Date: 2004-06-15

Tracks:

Romance - Sir Neville Marriner
Clair De Lune - Ernest Ansermet
Largo - Alan Loveday
Moderato - I Musici
Air - Sir Neville Marriner
Andantino (Siciliano) - Narciso Yepes
Notturno - Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Youth (Romance) - Alexander Kerr
Andante - Sir Neville Marriner
Adagio Sostenuto - Emil Gilels
Largo Ma Non Tanto - Simon Standage
Andante - Geza Anda

Customer Reviews:

nice little collection for the $ and occasion.......2005-09-28

Picked this one up randomly out of the other "Music for Your Life" CDs at Borders. Being as a half classical music fan, I thought to give it a try. It turned out to be a pretty good buy. So far my only complaint is on track 2 - Clair De Lune. For this particular piece, you just can't convert what was written for piano to an orchestra form. Those "poor" string guys had to mimic the piano keys/notes just so it complies with the music. It is so un-natural. Other than that, it's quite delightful. I am going to pick up a few more from the series later.

Average customer rating:

The Chandos Sound Experience

Manufacturer: Chandos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Scandinavian Languages | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Oratorios | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Sym No.1 Op.9 - Detroit SO/Neeme Jarvi
Sinfonietta: I. Allegretto - CZECH PO/JIRI BELOHLAVEK
Pno Con No.1: I. Allegro Brioso - Boris Berman
Le Tombeau De Couperin: Prld - Ulster Orch/Yan Pascal Tortelier
Sym No.2: III. Andante - LPO/Matthias Bamert
Elijah: Air - Willard White/Rosalind Plowright/Linda Finnie/Arthur Davies/Roderick Elms/Richard Hickox...
Hary Janos Ste: Entrance Of The Emperor And His Court - Chicago SO/Neeme Jarvi
Pno Con No.2 in c: I. Moderato - Howard Shelley
Henry V: V. Harfleur - Christopher Plummer/ASMF/Sir Neville Marriner
Sym No.3 in E flat: II. Marcia Funebre: Adagio Assai - CBSO/Walter Weller
Pno Con in G: II. Adagio Assai - Louis Lortie
Saul & David: Act 1 - Aage Haugland/Peter LIndroos/Tina Kiberg/Kurt Westi/Anne Gjevang/Christian Christiansen...
Vn Con No.1 in a, Op.99. Mvt 4: Burlesque, Allegro Con Brio - Lydia Mordkovitch

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