Sarah Chang ~ Strauss - Violin Concerto, Sonata in E flat / Sawallisch

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
These early works of Strauss are both in the romantic tradition, with none of the composer's later innovations. The Violin Concerto is immature, fit for listening only in your less demanding moods when you don't insist on much content or interesting structure. The Sonata, written when Strauss was 23, is much more successful and deserves to be a mainstay of the violin literature. Chang and Sawallisch don't do anything with the Concerto to disturb its equilibrium, so you can enjoy it for what little it has to offer. They have a highly unusual approach to the Sonata, very mellow and unaggressive. Some listeners may love this style, but others will want more outgoing quality in the music; they will enjoy Steinhardt/Mayorga much more. Still, it's fascinating to hear such a successful collaboration as this one between performers almost half a century apart in age! --Leslie Gerber

Tracks:

Concerto For Violin And Orchestra In D Minor, Op.8: I. Allegro
Concerto For Violin And Orchestra In D Minor, Op.8: II. Lento ma non troppo
Concerto For Violin And Orchestra In D Minor, Op.8: III. Finale: Rondo (presto)
Sonata For Violin And Piano In E Flat, Op.18: I. Allegro, ma non troppo
Sonata For Violin And Piano In E Flat, Op.18: II. Improvisation: Andante cantabile
Sonata For Violin And Piano In E Flat, Op.18: III. Finale: Andante; Allegro

Amazon.com

These early works of Strauss are both in the romantic tradition, with none of the composer's later innovations. The Violin Concerto is immature, fit for listening only in your less demanding moods when you don't insist on much content or interesting structure. The Sonata, written when Strauss was 23, is much more successful and deserves to be a mainstay of the violin literature. Chang and Sawallisch don't do anything with the Concerto to disturb its equilibrium, so you can enjoy it for what little it has to offer. They have a highly unusual approach to the Sonata, very mellow and unaggressive. Some listeners may love this style, but others will want more outgoing quality in the music; they will enjoy Steinhardt/Mayorga much more. Still, it's fascinating to hear such a successful collaboration as this one between performers almost half a century apart in age! --Leslie Gerber

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful Collaboration.......2006-07-05

The Strauss VC might be considered immature and lacking in substance, but it is still very enjoyable to listen to. It is full of exciting moments, with beautiful melodies in between, very much like the Tchaikovsky concerto, although not as great a peice. Sarah Chang and Wolfgang Sawallisch give a very staightforward and lyrical reading of the work. Sarah's phrasing sounds sweet and mature, as in all of her recordings. The accompaniment is well balanced and very accurate, always letting the soloist shine through. The outer movements, paticularly the last, are played with incredible speed and skill. The slow movement serves as a calm zone between the more robust parts of the concerto.

In the sonata, Chang and Sawallisch play in a very relaxed and laid back manner, not to say there aren't any moments of suspense and drama. It is a worthwhile listen, although may not be the definitve recording of this work. It will nonetheless be an interesting edition to any music lover's library. Stongly recomended.

*And just a side note on all these comparisons between Hilary Hahn and Sarah Chang. I am a huge fan of both, and have most of their recordings. They both play so well, yet so differently that it is pointless to compare the two. They have completly differently sounds, both beautiful, but not at all the same. Chang's vibrato is much wider, Hahn's style is much lighter. Hahn tends to be more restrained, while Chang lends her playing to a more spontaneous style. They each bring out very different qualities in the music they play. I suggest you listen to both, rather than turn the two against eachother. They are two of the greatest violinists of our generation, and possibly any generation.

Missing the Magic.......2005-01-03

I recently listened to the collaboration in question since I'd been placed in the position of learning the piano part to the Strauss violin Sonata within a 3 week period. Hoping to get at the spirit of the piece by delving directly into the recording, I was disappointed. The duo of Chang/Sawallisch takes a middle of the road, conservative and risk free approach. There is nothing to criticize about the ensemble playing, generally, and Chang's intonation is wonderful. It's rather a shame that the recording itself is rather muted in tone color (engineering wise) and I found this disappointing given the high price of this issue. Mr. Sawallisch plays competently but mostly unimaginatively- in order for Strauss to come over the footlights, especially on a recording, greater abandon and risk must be the order of the day.
There is not enough dynamic range on the part of both performers, but this may be a function of the sub-par recording production itself. Those who cannot play the music for themselves might do better with another collaboration.

fluffy.......2003-10-02

I bought this CD a long time ago and haven't listened to it for a long time after being disappointed by it. However, I hope my impresions would still be useful to some readers. Both of the works recorded here were written by Richard Strauss when he was very young. The music itself, therefore, may sound rather superficial to some ears. The concerto had a great modern recording by Xue-Wei quite a few years ago, which earned a Penguin Guide rosette. I was hoping that Sarah Chang would be even better. Unfortunately, I found very little musical ideas in her performance. All I could hear is her big, standard Julliard/Delay trained tone and phrasing (which may be appealing to some listeners who don't listen to the violin very often and have not been tired by it). In the sonatas, this problem just becomes worse.

I should note that this CD was also the turning point in my Sarah Chang "fan-ship". I felt that she wasn't improving any more, like many over-celebrated prodigies. Her development is in sharp contrast with Hilary Hahn, who totally amazes me. But to be fair, I have not heard Chang recently. I could only hope that she hasn't reached her musical peak yet.

beautiful tone.......2002-04-30

Sarah is highly talented and hearing her beautiful tone
on the Strauss Sonata is heaven...Worth a listen..

(Sarah, loved your concert in Los Angeles 04-27-02)

Michael

Beautiful.......2001-12-07

Yes, she is one of the most talented violinists of the century,
Yes, She has a gorgeous sound,
Yes, She looks like a fashion model on the cover,
Yes, She sound brilliant on this CD,
and Yes, Struass violin concerto is beautiful.
No, Her Strauss sonata is immature.

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