Tchaikovsky, Korngold: Violin Concertos

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Anne-Sophie Mutter's virtuosity is so crystal clear that she doesn't even have to try any more. The ease with which she gets into her first solo in the Tchaikovsky is astounding--we hardly know what hit us--and she tackles the cadenza as if it were just another integral part of the work, rather than draw attention to the fact that it's a rather awkward cadenza at that. Her attacks are clean and strong and her tone is always deep and round; this is the epitome of the Romantic approach. The final movement draws attention to itself somewhat, but the listener remains dazzled. The Korngold is a horse of a different color, with the orchestra endlessly commenting on the comings and goings of the violin and Mutter leading and adding to the festivities. She puts aside her usual barbed approach for a very gentle entry into the slow movement and the high trills and show-offishness in the last movement are playful and sparkling. Conductor Previn clearly knows and loves these works too, and the recording is very clear, with the violin very closely miked. This is grand playing and a big listening experience. --Robert Levine

Tracks:

I. Allegro Moderato
II. Canzonetta. Andante - Attacca
III. Finale. Allegro Vivacissimo
I. Moderato Nobile
II. Romance. Andante
III. Finale. Allegro Assai Vivace

Amazon.com

Anne-Sophie Mutter's virtuosity is so crystal clear that she doesn't even have to try any more. The ease with which she gets into her first solo in the Tchaikovsky is astounding--we hardly know what hit us--and she tackles the cadenza as if it were just another integral part of the work, rather than draw attention to the fact that it's a rather awkward cadenza at that. Her attacks are clean and strong and her tone is always deep and round; this is the epitome of the Romantic approach. The final movement draws attention to itself somewhat, but the listener remains dazzled. The Korngold is a horse of a different color, with the orchestra endlessly commenting on the comings and goings of the violin and Mutter leading and adding to the festivities. She puts aside her usual barbed approach for a very gentle entry into the slow movement and the high trills and show-offishness in the last movement are playful and sparkling. Conductor Previn clearly knows and loves these works too, and the recording is very clear, with the violin very closely miked. This is grand playing and a big listening experience. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

What the heck is happening to Mutter???.......2006-07-29

Sure she commands the biggest fee of any soloist in classical music. This must make violinists like the criminally-underrated Viktoria Mullova shake her head in wonderment. This is another very bad, very egotistical, very vulgar interpretation from a fiddler who's become too full of herself. She has commented that her interpretations today have little in common with what she was doing early in her career. Indeed! And that's a shame. She made some great recordings back then.

The Tchaikovsky, which has one of the stiffest, most uninspired accompaniments I've ever heard from hubby Andre, is crass--perhaps she's trying to achieve Eduard Hanslick's assessment that the music stinks to the ear. She certainly tries to accomplish that, with an overbearing, thick sound, a moany (not throaty, moany) tone, supersized phrasing even in intimate passages, all sorts of unscripted glissandi, notes held beyond their notation, and theatrical vibrato. This is just bad taste. Her technical prowess is never in doubt (though she seems to doubt it; she seems to be shouting "LISTEN TO WHAT I CAN DO!" every few seconds), but part of what makes a musician great is the ability to divine the composition, so to speak. While to a degree this can be subjective, there are stylistic guidelines that can be gleaned from the score, performance practice, etc., and there comes a point beyond which I am willing to forgive. Just listen to her opening phrasing...the streeeeetching of every third note, the excessively fussy micro-diminuendos and micro-crescendos at every third bar, the distortion of phrases into nonsense, the outright schmaltzy approach that honestly seems to disrespect the composer. The Amazon review states that she incorporates the first movement's cadenza as though it were an integral part of the work. I seriously have to question if the reviewer listened to the disc (sober, at least). This cadenza has about six thousand separate gearshifts when it comes to tempo, dynamics, color, and vibrato, all of which call attention to her technique and nothing more. I cannot escape the feeling lately that she is just using music--*any* music--as a springboard to show off. And I used to be one of her biggest fans.

The Korngold, a wonderful and neglected work, is here schmaltzed to such an extent that it sounds like not just film music (as Korngold was a great film composer) but a parody of film music. Over the opening bars I can practically hear the narration, "I remember the last time I kissed her, on that bridge in Paris, before I said goodbye forever. I can still smell her perfume on my collar, feel her hair against my face. Now she's just a memory, a dame in a distant land..." Again Previn turns in a routine performance, though at least it's not quite as rhythmically stiff. (As Mutter has become more showboaty, he's become blander and blander, until he must be The Dullest Conductor on Earth, even duller than Wolfgang Sawallisch or Kurt Masur [there should be a special award for that; it's not easy].) At least the cadenza here isn't an embarrassment. The sound is muffled for the orchestra, upfront and larger-than-life for our egomaniacal fiddler. For the Tchaikovsky, you want a great recording in modern sound, get Mullova/Ozawa (don't worry, Seiji is in good form here) on Philips. It's coupled with a stunning Sibelius concerto. Another fine modern performance I used to enjoy was Stern/Rostropovich (mostly for Stern), but this has never made it to CD except briefly in Japan. For Korngold, give Heifetz a try. As for this CD, DG should sever her expensive contract and use the dough to hire some fresh talent less burdened with ego. Try Christian Tetzlaff for starters.

Mutter, as usual, outdo everyone.......2006-07-21

GOD, please help me:I HAVEN'T SLEPT FOR A WEEK SINCE I LISTENED IT FOR THE FIRST TIME. It's simply the best TCHAIKOVSKY and KORNGOLD available.
TCHAIKOVSKY's 3th tempo and the finale of the 1st are played so fast and with so much character that will pierce you through like a TGV at his maximum speed.
The 2nd tempo is great too, with her non-vibrato and pianissimo at the begin, and a crescendo that brings new power and interest for the piece at every bar, even if the theme is repeated plenty of times.

KORNGOLD is TERRIFIC: it really scared me, expecially the last tempo. I'm sorry but in comparison with other recording of other grat artists such as Perlman, Shaham and even HEIFETZ, they all disappear, both for the tempi and for the energy this piece is played with.

I think this recording will be a great stone in the history of violin.

Before this cd I could not even imagine that so much ENERGY, POWER, STRENGTH and FIERY CHARACTER would be held by only one person.

I can bet my.....violin that such an incredible perfection won't let you sleep for many many night! ;)
Please DO COMPARE,if you can....and tell me...

My last consideration: AMAZON, PLEASE LET PEOPLE VOTE 6 STAR FOR THIS, AMAZING, STUNNING, PERFECT CD! Thanx

Technique with Heart.......2006-07-20

Anne Sofie has been at her violin for years now, and just seems
to get better. Technique, musical skill she has. Nobody can form
an argument against that. I've heard some say she has flurishes,
and tends to show off that skill a little too much. But if you read what she has to say about Tchaikovsky's concerto, and other things she has played. There is Heart and alot of care goes into
her recordings.

Two musicians in love.......2006-05-14

When you realize that Mutter and Previn were still in their 'honeymoon', this recording sounds like a confession of love. The Tchaikovsky can sound mannered because it sounds so diferent, so improvised in manner. But it works.
The Korngold? Some can say that it is Hollywood music. In fact, it is. But time has shown that there was nothing wrong with the quality of Korngold or Steiner, Newman or Tiomkin. To the contrary. Their music will surely live much longer than that of those wacko elitits who, I happen to think, have made 'classical' music truly boring.
The Korngold is just superb. Mutter/Previn play the slow movement so, so lovingly, that, if you don't melt or get a chill up your spine, I recommend you stick to Carter, Cage, Stokhausen and the like.
The recorded sound is outstanding. A winner.

A Fine Rendition of the Korngold.......2006-02-27

I have never understood the widespread revulsion among violinists to the Korngold concerto. Those who snort dismissively at his music and call it "more corn than gold" -- a phrase that has unjustly dogged a gifted and oft overlooked composer -- are merely demonstrating how prodigiously they can judge a book by its cover.

I like Korngold's music, and I like Previn, who conducts on this CD, for unabashedly championing it. Most of Korngold's detractors savor the criticism that his music merely consists of glorified film soundtracks. Previn rightly counters, "It is not that Korngold sounds like film music; film music sounds like Korngold." In this sense, Korngold is a genuine innovator; more often than not, modern film composers are standing upon his shoulders. But his work and his genius as a composer go beyond the film score, as attested by his masterful string quartets and the Violin Concerto in D.

It's the strength of the concerto -- both as a composition and as it is rendered by Anne-Sophie Mutter -- that carries this CD. The aching nostalgia, heroism, and melodic opulence of Korngold's themes are undeniable, but Mutter's lyricism makes them sing and soar in ways that no other recording I'm aware of can approach. Heifetz may have the definitive recording, but as far as I'm concerned it's only definitive in matters of technique. Heifetz can't be beat for tone and execution, but his interpretive sensitivity lags well behind his technical prowess. This rendition by Mutter may be the new lyrical gold standard for the Korngold concerto.

I know there are hordes of violinists out there ready to shout me down, but I find the Tchaikovsky to be an inferior composition to the Korngold -- it is just as (if not more) repetitive as any part of the Korngold, and the themes in the 1st and 3rd movements are sterile by comparison. Compared to her performance of the Korngold, Mutter's Tchaikovsky is rendered with far less verve and craft. For much of the piece (especially in the cadenzas), she vacillates between uncouth, temporally incoherent sawing and high lyricism that squeezes melodies for all their nectar. To my ear, her rendition of the Tchaikovsky struggles to remain cogent. The exception is the 2nd movement. Mutter's tone and vibrato are sublime, and the slower tempo allows her to be more expansive with her phrasing, bringing her apparent strengths to the fore.

I bought this CD because of the Korngold, and I wasn't disappointed. I've heard all the great violin concertos rendered by many of the great performers of our time. I won't dare to go so far as to say that the Korngold is the greatest of the violin concertos, but I think it's one of the most enjoyable and immediately accessible. Mutter's rendition makes it doubly so, which is why I think this is also one of the best violin virtuoso recordings I've heard.

Tchaikovsky, Korngold: Violin Concertos [Hybrid SACD]

Average customer rating:

Tchaikovsky, Korngold: Violin Concertos [Hybrid SACD]

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Deutsche Grammophon: Music | Specialty Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Carmen-Fantasie [Hybrid SACD]
Beethoven: Violin Concerto; Romances
Russian Violin Concertos [Hybrid SACD]
J.S. Bach: Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin, BWV 1001-1006
Live at Carnegie Hall [Hybrid SACD]

ASIN: B0002IRXXW
Release Date: 2005-01-11

Average customer rating:

An unbelievable Bruch

Mischa Elman Plays Violin Concertos

Manufacturer: Testament UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

Compilations | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical | Imports | Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Mischa Elman Plays Violin Sonatas and Violin Encores
The Art of Ivry Gitlis

ASIN: B0001K2KTI
Release Date: 2004-05-11

Customer Reviews:

An unbelievable Bruch.......2005-03-03

This Mischa Elman's violin concertos album deserve being bought and listened for the pure sake of his two Bruch concertos performances.
The magnificent musical ideas of Elman render the overplayed Bruch n.1 and the seldom played Bruch n.2 the most captivating performance we can imagine, as if they were two concertos never listened before!
The recordings remount back to 1956, with Adrian Boult and London Philharmonic,Anatole Fistoulari and London Symphony respectively.
Compared to Elman's rendition, the various glorified Heifetz,Ferras,Accardo and so on give only a faint interpretation of what this wonderful romantic violin music should sound.

Music Review:

Music Review

Quand Le Chant Grégorien S'Appelait Chant Messin - Scola Metensis

Kings of Western Swing, Vol. 2

Simply Latin [Box set]

Somewhere My Love

Original Finnish Jazz

Skittish/Rockity Roll

Pirates Treasure

Physical Graffiti [Import]

Now's the Time [Import]

Positividade [Import]

Set It Off: Music From The New Line Cinema Motion Picture [Explicit Lyrics] [Soundtrack]

Virtuoso Trumpet Concertos

Dream