Nathan Milstein: The 1946 Library Of Congress Recital

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
This concert was recorded at the Library of Congress in 1946, and it's typical of a violin recital of that time, including a concerto played with piano accompaniment. The great Nathan Milstein was at the height of his career, and his playing is simply stupendous. The Bach Sonata is even more amazing than in Milstein's two studio recordings, and the unaccompanied Paganiniana will give other violinists nightmares. And I don't mind hearing the Mendelssohn with piano when it's played this beautifully. The sound shows its age, but it's listenable. Beware of a rip-off of this disc on the Italian Strings label; this edition is the original. --Leslie Gerber

Album Description
Hold on to your hat! Released herein, for the first time, is a disc of astonishing violin playing: one of this century's greatest masters captured at the peak of his powers. This 67 minute disc offers ample evidence for the widely held contention that Milstein was among a handful of the greatest violin virtuosi of his time. This disc includes performances of many of the works that made Milstein famous. His Vitali Chaconne features the impeccable intonation and beautifully focused vibrato that made his name legend. Faster and more intense than the studio recordings that he would later make, Milstein's Bach G minor Sonata brings together intellectual strength and the heartfelt emotion that marks all of the performances in this recital. In a class by itself is the astounding virtuosity of Milstein's Paganiniana- simply one of the most amazing displays of digital facility that one will ever hear. This disc includes a real rarity - Milstein's performance of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, Op. 64, with piano accompaniment. Because of the resultant prominence of the solo violin part, violin enthusiasts will be particularly excited about the opportunity to hear Milstein's interpretation "up close". As encores Milstein offers his own haunting transcriptions of Chopin's Nocturne in C sharp minor as well as a spectacularly fiery rendition of Wieniawski's Scherzo-Tarantelle.

Tracks:

Chaconne - Nathan Milstein/Josef Blatt
Son in g, BWV 1001: Adagio - Nathan Milstein
Son in g, BWV 1001: Fuga (Allegro) - Nathan Milstein
Son in g, BWV 1001: Siciliano - Nathan Milstein
Son in g, BWV 1001: Presto - Nathan Milstein
Son in g, BWV 1001: Paganiniana (Vars) On Themes By Nicolo Paganini - Nathan Milstein
Con in e, Op.64: Allegro Molto Appassionato-Presto - Nathan Milstein/Josef Blatt
Con in e, Op.64: Andante - Nathan Milstein/Josef Blatt
Con in e, Op.64: Allegretto Non Troppo-Allegro Molto Vivace - Nathan Milstein/Josef Blatt
Nocturne in c# - Nathan Milstein/Josef Blatt
Scherzo-Tarantelle - Nathan Milstein/Josef Blatt

Amazon.com

This concert was recorded at the Library of Congress in 1946, and it's typical of a violin recital of that time, including a concerto played with piano accompaniment. The great Nathan Milstein was at the height of his career, and his playing is simply stupendous. The Bach Sonata is even more amazing than in Milstein's two studio recordings, and the unaccompanied Paganiniana will give other violinists nightmares. And I don't mind hearing the Mendelssohn with piano when it's played this beautifully. The sound shows its age, but it's listenable. Beware of a rip-off of this disc on the Italian Strings label; this edition is the original. --Leslie Gerber

Album Description

Hold on to your hat! Released herein, for the first time, is a disc of astonishing violin playing: one of this century's greatest masters captured at the peak of his powers. This 67 minute disc offers ample evidence for the widely held contention that Milstein was among a handful of the greatest violin virtuosi of his time. This disc includes performances of many of the works that made Milstein famous. His Vitali Chaconne features the impeccable intonation and beautifully focused vibrato that made his name legend. Faster and more intense than the studio recordings that he would later make, Milstein's Bach G minor Sonata brings together intellectual strength and the heartfelt emotion that marks all of the performances in this recital. In a class by itself is the astounding virtuosity of Milstein's Paganiniana- simply one of the most amazing displays of digital facility that one will ever hear. This disc includes a real rarity - Milstein's performance of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, Op. 64, with piano accompaniment. Because of the resultant prominence of the solo violin part, violin enthusiasts will be particularly excited about the opportunity to hear Milstein's interpretation "up close". As encores Milstein offers his own haunting transcriptions of Chopin's Nocturne in C sharp minor as well as a spectacularly fiery rendition of Wieniawski's Scherzo-Tarantelle.

Customer Reviews:

Totally amazing, despite the crude recording.......2004-04-01

I basically buy and listen to violin recordings with my daughter, the violinist, when she begins to learn each new piece. We bought this one for the Vitali Chaconne, and before hearing it we frankly did not have high hopes - my daughter tends to turn up her nose at the noise on older recordings, and neither of us liked Milstein's recording of the Bach Partita #3, but...Wow! The expressive sound that comes through the snap, crackle, pop, and hiss of the '40s recording technology is wonderful! The live-performance energy that you can sense on this disc makes you forget feeling "spoiled" by crystal-clear, heavily edited, DDD CDs. The Vitali is wonderful, and the totally unexpected piano-accompaniment-only version of the Mendelssohn concerto really makes you appreciate the solo violin even more. This is one to seriously consider even if you have the prejudices that we did at first.

A poor recording of wonderful music played near perfectly........1998-11-03

Recoreded in 46', this disc has many cracks, snaps and pops which are a little bit annoying, but the musicianship on the disc is amazing. It contains a wonderful selection of pieces ranging from sad and romantic to fast and virtuosic. Milstein is a phenomenal violinist and this recording captures him at his best. This record is a must have for violin fan fans as well as anyone with a pulse.

5 stars even though the recording is bad.

Music Review: