Janinie Jansen

Track Listings

1. Danse Russe {From Swan Lake}

2. Nocturne [Suite] {From Masquerade}

3. Havanaise, Op. 83

4. Introduction et Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 28

5. Romance [Suite] {From the Gadfly}

6. Main Theme {From Schindler's List}

7. Lark Ascending

8. Tzigane

Tracks:

Allegro
Largo
Allegro
Allegro Non Molto
Adagio/Presto
Presto
Allegro
Adagio Molto
Allegro
Allegro Non Molto
Largo
Allegro

Customer Reviews:

A good recording, but lacks a little presence.......2007-07-16

Almost anything sounds great in SACD and this performance is no exception, but if you're used to a 100 piece orchestra strumming violins to this score, you might be slighly disappointed. If you are looking for a different take on the four seasons and would appreciate the distinctive sound of a just a few instruments, this is for you

Accessible and enjoyable Vivaldi.......2006-03-19

Vivaldi is practically as synonymous with virtuosic violin arrangements as McDonalds is with fat. Practically. Janine Jansen's arrangements for Vivaldi's Four Seasons is stark, graceful, and engaging- she assigns only one musician per part. The sometimes overwhleming grandeur of fully orchestrated arrangements is appreciatively mellowed, allowing the ear to really hear each musician and their expected "virtuosic" and precise talent. Though mellowed to nearly Starbucks ambiance, the arrangements manage to retain the energy and excitement of Vivaldi in a fresh and accessible new form.

Average customer rating:

Youthful excitement and Passion fuel Mendelssohn
Stunning, energetic performances!
unbridled, unrefined,un-thoughtful
The ONE for Mendelssohn conerto!
LOVE IT!!

Janine Jansen: Concertos & Romance

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Vivaldi: The Four Seasons - Janine Jansen
Janine Jansen
Paganini: Violin Concerto No. 1; Spohr: Violin Concerto No. 8
Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto (Hybr)
Hilary Hahn: A Portrait

ASIN: B000JRYMDU
Release Date: 2007-01-09

Tracks:

1. Allegro molto appassionato
2. Andante
3. Allegro non troppo - Allegro molto vivace
Romance in F for Viola & Orchestra, Op.85
1. Vorspiel (Allegro moderato)
2. Adagio
3. Finale (Allegro energico)

Album Description

Janine Jansen has gained a worldwide critical following for her fresh look at the pillars of core violin repertoire and her intense and lyrical approach to the music. After her successful Vivaldi Four Seasons recording, Jansen presents her first major concerto album. This recording, conducted by Riccardo Chailly, has strong historical and musical connections--the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchester was conducted by Mendelssohn for many years and the group premiered his concerto in 1844. This recording also presents a real discovery, the Bruch's Romance for Viola & Orchestra, recorded on disc on viola for the first time.

Customer Reviews:

Youthful excitement and Passion fuel Mendelssohn.......2007-06-26

Janine Jansen is a wonderful young performer who brings a fresh, totally live sound to this favorite.
5 stars!

Stunning, energetic performances!.......2007-06-19

Janine Jansen is one of the finest young classical violinists in the world today. Her performance of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor, is thrilling! While I may not have the musical pedigree to comment on every nuance of her performance, let me say, if you like classical music, you are going to really like this CD! I did, it's that simple. Energetic, passionate, romantic...emotion pours out of Ms. Jansen. While her tone is certainly beautiful and extraordinary, it is the "romance" in this CD that swept me away. She plays the violin dangerously and with abandon! She holds nothing back. In the end, it just works, and it does so really really well, in my opinion. The other selections by Bruch are also quite good and I enjoyed them as well, but it's the Mendelssohn that makes this CD one of my absolute favorites.

unbridled, unrefined,un-thoughtful.......2007-04-27

In this crowded field of recordings of Mendelssohn and Bruch's popular concertos, the way Jansen and Chailly decided to distinguish themselves is to take the extreme virtuosic approach to these works and at the same time allows their emotions to dictate in order to maximize the excitement. The Mendelssohn is like a freight train charging through the night rather than a mid summer night's frolic. I must admit that at times I was enthralled by some of the vituosic passages in the Mendelssohn's. But overall, there is no substance to the performance. Jansen's playing is uneven, exciting at times, and yet there are plenty of dull moments where she sounds sluggish and muddled. Orchestral accompliment is woefully lacking in details. Fortes are over-used and there's no elasticity in the sound. The performer and the conductor did not relish in the interplays between the violin and the orchestra, partly I think this has to do with placing the violin much closer to the microphone in order to make the violin stand out. The Bruch's concerto does not render itself as well to such approach taken by Jensen and Chailly and the result is a sophorific performance. I find my attention drifting after the openning passage of the work. I would recommend the Mendenssohn to listener interested in an virtuosic approach to this work. For the Bruch's, one should look else where.

The ONE for Mendelssohn conerto!.......2007-03-29

This is an absolutely stunning performance! Although I love Mendelssohn's violin concerto so much I hesitated buying this CD at once. I just had hard time finding the ONE recording for my taste believe or not. However this beautiful young lady impressed me way much more than I expected! Wonderful feeling, power, technique are there with a great tonality. Orchestra/Chally is superb, really a great work all together. I guess this will stop me from hunting for another great recording of the Mendelssohn for a while. By the way, Bruch concerto is also quiet nice (Kyung Hwa Chung's is still my favorite) and the viola romance is just so beautiful! It is hard to get disappointed with this recording so try it!

LOVE IT!!.......2007-03-26

Love it, especially the Bruch. The only reason for 4 stars is that this live recording is a little 'far away'....as a record producer, it annoys me when the recording sounds more distant then when I hear Janine live in a concert hallI

Average customer rating:

Janine is also a great chamber musician...
virtuoso unequalled
a promise for things to come
Selections Can Be Improved

Janine Jansen

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

Vivaldi: The Four Seasons - Janine Jansen
Janine Jansen: Concertos & Romance
Vivaldi: Four Seasons [Hybrid SACD]
Leila Josefowicz Plays Beethoven, Ravel, Salonen, Grey, Messiaen
Hilary Hahn: A Portrait

ASIN: B00009Z54O
Release Date: 2004-03-09

Tracks:

Danse Russe [From Swan Lake]
Nocturne (Suite) [From Masquerade]
Havanaise, Op. 83
Introduction et Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 28
Romance (Suite) [From the Gadfly]
Main Theme [From Schindler's List]
Lark Ascending
Tzigane

Customer Reviews:

Janine is also a great chamber musician..........2006-06-10

Perhaps because of growing up in a musical family, Janine is also an outstanding chamber musician; but you have to look for her under "Spectrum Concerts Berlin" where she is first violin in albums of Dohnanyi, Harbison and Robert Helps.

virtuoso unequalled.......2006-02-23

I had to purchase this CD after viewing Janine Jansen in live concert. She is as dynamic as any of the great violin masters that I listened to in my younger days including Stern or Heifitz. Each track on the CD is a great representation of her talents and I highly recommend this particular product to those that like great music complimented by one of the great violin players of our generation. I just wish that she didn't have to resort to the suggestive poses on the album cover....her musical talents speak for themselves.

a promise for things to come.......2004-10-10

Janine Jansen from Holland, born 1978. Her great talents can hardly better be illustrated than by the violin she plays: a real Stradivarius from 1727, leased to her by the prestigeous American Stradivari Society.

Jansen and her Stradivarius are a delight to listen to. And so is the accompanying Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Barry Wordsworth. And let's also not forget Decca's sound enigneers here.

Janine Jansen surely may develop as a the new David Oistrach or Yehudi Menuhin. Anyway, she likes chamber music, and that's what this CD is about.

Selections Can Be Improved.......2004-06-28

Eventhough this is the First Janine Jansen recording I get to hear, the sound was't bad. The girl really knows her instrumment and the orchestra does a great contibution to the album. However she cannot be called a Vituoso yet and selecting "Schindler's List" main theme by J. Williams doesn't give her any classical attribute. Honestly the album can be in any violinist colection since Danse Rose from Tchaikovsky, Romance from Shostakovich and ultimately Tzigane from Ravel does the job. At this point of her career she's not in the position of making selections. Moreover the Glamorous pictures can be taken out of the CD. Ah! The fact or advertisement that she plays with an Stradivarius doesn't mean the album will be a collectors item. In a wrap up: The album its OK! to me. If You like albums in which the performer mixes different composer at his/her will and don't mind about it, purchase it.

Dohnányi: Serenade for String Trio; Sextet

Average customer rating:

About Spectrum Concerts
Aimez-vous Brahms?

Dohnányi: Serenade for String Trio; Sextet

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Dohnányi: COMPLETE PIANO WORKS Vol. 1
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Vivaldi: The Four Seasons - Janine Jansen

ASIN: B00008OP1T
Release Date: 2003-05-20

Tracks:

Marcia: Allegro
Romanza: Adagio Non Troppo, Quasi Andante
Scherzo: Vivace
Tema Con Variazioni: Andante Con Moto
Rondo (Finale): Allegro Vivace
Allegro Appassionato
Intermezzo; Adagio
Allegro Con Sentimento - Poco Adagio, Andante Tranquillo
Finale: Allegro Vivace, Giocoso

Customer Reviews:

About Spectrum Concerts.......2006-04-26

Spectrum Concerts Berlin is that city's premier chamber organization, giving six to eight concerts annually to consistent acclaim. They are a youthful ensemble with that exceptional listening that only the best chamber music achieves. Janine Jansen, the first-chair violin, has just burst onto the US concerto circuit, and her Four Seasons is a smash e-hit, but she is being acknowledged for the completeness of her musicianship. Spectrum's work as a group is at the same level.

Aimez-vous Brahms?.......2003-05-29

For much the last century, during the rush to ever more modern-sounding music, it was fashionable, in musicological circles, to dismiss any work that sounded like Brahms. There were a few hardy souls who continued writing music in that vein, and among them was Ernst von Dohnanyi (or Erno Dohnanyi, to use the more proper Hungarian form of the name). The two works on this disc are very much in the Brahmsian ambit, although the later Sextet ventures a bit harmonically and rhythmically.

The Serenade, written in 1902, is for string trio, that rarest of chamber music forms; it is difficult to write music with full-sounding romantic harmonies with just three instruments. However, by judicious use of double-stops and lots of cello and viola arpeggios using 4ths, 5ths, 6ths and 10ths, the harmonies are filled out admirably and richly. Indeed, this piece is every bit as yummy as a cup of hot dark rich chocolate. If you love Brahms, you'll love this piece. It has been much-recorded and even rescored (by Dimitry Sitkovetsky) for string orchestra; this recording holds its own with that company.

The sextet, for the unusual combination of piano, violin, viola, cello, clarinet and horn, is a much later work - from 1938 - but is only slightly more adventuresome harmonically. There is some modal filigree, but the underlying harmonic procedures are still Brahmsian. There are some rhythmic surprises, including a samba in the final movement; the German Brahms often ended his chamber pieces with movements based on Hungarian Gypsy melodies, but the Hungarian Dohnanyi ends _his_ piece with a waltz that becomes a samba. Go figure! And a lovely time is had by all.

The musicians here were all unknown to me except for the excellent French-American pianist, Daniel Blumenthal; his colleagues are fully his equals. These are invigorating performances of wonderful music. You can't go wrong with this issue.

Strongly recommended.

Tracks:

Concerto No.1 La Primavera (Spring) Rv269
Concerto No.2 L'estate (Summer) Rv315
Concerto No.3 L'autunno (Autumm) Rv293
Concerto No.4 L'inverno (Winter) Rv297

Album Details

Janine Jansen Follows her First Decca Album of Violin Favorites with this High-energy Account of Vivaldi's Four Violin Concertos, Known and Loved as 'the Four Seasons'. The Dutch Violinist Leads her Specially Selected Group of Soloists in a Fresh Look at the Most Loved of all Classical Works. What Gives this Recording Its Tremendous Freshness and Sparkle is Janine's Use of Just One Player Per Part. Gone is the Heavy Orchestral Sound which is So Familiar, this is a Four Seasons which Sparkles with New Life and Energy, Like a Freshly Cleaned Old Painting Revealed in Its True Colors.

Customer Reviews:

A wonderful revelation.......2006-07-01

This performance is like hearing what you thought was a familiar piece for the first time. The clarity provided by having one instrument per part is enlightening. And the performances are outstanding. Highly recommended for any Four Seasons lover.

OOOO-WEEEEE!.......2006-06-03

The Janine Jansen recording of that old Vivaldi standard "The Four Seasons" (which itself is bordering on being hackneyed through over-use) just arrived. As one review I read somewhere noted, it is indeed probably not for most folks. Only eight instruments are used: 2 violins (Jansen plays a Strad.), viola, cello, double bass, box organ, theorbo(!!), and harpsichord.
This one DEMANDS that you pay attention to it; it is absolutely chock-full of subtlety and nuance that the casual listener would probably fail to appreciate, if not find downright grating in places. If you seek background music for your garden party, there are dozens of excellent recordings of this work that fit that bill.

I've heard things in the score I've never heard in other recordings, even discounting a bit of improvisational embellishment. The excessive voluptuousness of full string orchestra often mooshes everything out into an easily digestible pablum for public consumption.

She handles both serene and frenetic passages with the ability one would expect from the temporary custodian of a Stradivarius. Her tempi (and transitions) are often surprising, as are the dynamics. There are times when one feels the instruments are being pushed right to their limits, (occasionally sounding like it verges on instrument abuse) thus generating tonal qualities seldom heard in this piece. I am mightily impressed.

Good work, sensitive playing but shortcomings galore.......2006-05-25

Janine Jansen is a young Hollander that's making a name for herself beyond the shores of her native land. This CD of Vivaldi's chestnut, "Four Seasons", is helping build her international reputation.

Jansen is a young woman that plays a 1727 Stradivarius and that fact alone has set a lot of musicologists atwitter. She plays with a senstivity and syle in keeping with the way performers do the "Four Seasons" today. Jansen is abetted here by a band of seven -- two violins, viola, cello, double bass, theorbo and either harpsichord of box organ (played by one Jan Jansen, probably a relative but not identified in the notes or at Ms. Jansen's Web site.) This octet performance eschewing the full string band also set some critics atwitter.

Musically, these performances are warm, virtuosic and mainstream with a few touches that show the players and soloist have something to say about the music. Note Janine's free use of rubato in the opening of "Spring" and her free portamento in its second movement. Right away the listener knows this group has an idea about the music. Janine closes "Spring" with phrasing beginning with sforzando and going from PP to FF in a matter of notes or bars. Her tendency to close movements quietly and peacefully begins here, also.

From the beginning the soloist and group are aided by a recorded sound that is deep, clear and natural with orchestral depth and definition. This is DDD but not SACD although it sounds close to the latter.

While the first two were also well done, I thought the closing pair of concertos were the better ones on the CD. "Autumn" has a notable stream of consciousness approach in its adagio molto with the solo violin and harpsichord obligato sharing the spotlight. The concluding "Winter" concerto begins high exqiusite techinque by the soloist and fury from everyone. Its following largo is a lot like a Mravinsky largo (more like allegro) and the concluding allegro offers an exhibition of counterpoint between the soloist and cellist. Again, each concerto concludes quietly and peacefully.

Musically, I thought this performance was interesting and it is certainly well-recorded. However, since that performance way back when by steel-fingered I Musici, the bar has been set impossibly high on recordings of this music. Anything that's going to come along in 2006 and compete must have a great deal going for it musically, must have some extramusical interest, and, perhaps most important, must have something on the recording to keep us interested beyong the warhourse quartet of concertos.

While the musical values of this recording are good and the recording is exceptional, it fails to meet any of the other criteria. Any full price CD in the new century (this one has a list price of $18 even though BMG is marketing it for $14) must have more than the puny 40 minutes here dedicated to the "Four Seasons." With a capacity for 80 minutes on a CD, London has left half the loaf unbaked but is asking you to pay for the whole thing.

Extramusically, this recording has little else going for it. The notes are not enthralling. They don't tell you how old is Ms. Jansen or whom is Jan Jansen. You get three paragraphs about the music and a half-dozen artful gold-laced photos of the soloist with not a single word about any of the other performers.

I think this CD is probably directed to crossover listeners with money to burn and no interest in any of these things. It is good musicmaking inside but otherwise doesn't hold much interest for serious collectors or those that want to know more about this warhorse set of concertos or the players. A nice notch in the bedpost, then, for Ms. Jansen but nothing special otherwise.

It's OK I suppose --- if you like Romantic Era chamber music.......2006-05-12

In the interest of full disclosure, I can't say that the chances are good that I would be thrilled by ANY new recording of The Four Seasons. It would seem that the previous 8 billion recordings of this warhouse would have explored just about anything possible in what Vivaldi wrote. Nor, I must confess, am I much of a fan of Vivaldi in the first place.

Still, I found the stripped down ensemble on this recording to be fairly effective, and Janine Jansen certainly does have a lovely tone. This recording is a pleasant enough confection.

However, any similarities to Baroque music are purely coincidental, because Jansen seems to embrace the 19th-century approach towards playing Baroque music. From the occasional slurpy shifts and rubato run amok, after a certain point this begins to sound like chamber music from the late Romantic period. When it does sound Baroque, it reminds me more of the French Baroque of Leclair than it does of Vivaldi.

In any case, this clearly is a "eye of the beholder" situation. It certainly isn't an ugly recording, by any means. However, if you are wanting something that actually sounds Baroque, you might want to take a pass on this.

Vivaldi in the computer-age.......2006-04-17

As Vivaldi's 'the four seasons' doesn't need any introduction, the value of this CD must be judged by the way its music is performed.

This is done by Janine Jansen (born in Holland, 1978), in an attractive today's youngster-style. As Janine explains in the accompanying booklet, she selects her musicians in the smallest number possible. By doing so she is sharply aware that their style harmonizes with the way she herself plays her Stradivarius-violin.

By emphasizing on basics in this way, Janine allows every musician a great deal of freedom in how to play his or her instrument. The overall result is a remarkably transparant & lively interpretation of Vivaldi's 'the four seasons'.

In December 2003 I attended Janine Jansen's performance of Vivaldi's 'seasons' in the Dutch town of Utrecht. This CD sounds as an exact copy of what I heard then.

John Harbison: Four Songs of Solitude; Variations; Twilight Music

Average customer rating:

good although not particularly adventurous

John Harbison: Four Songs of Solitude; Variations; Twilight Music

Manufacturer: Naxos American
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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John Harbison: Ulysses' Bow / Samuel Chapter
Osvaldo Golijov: Ainadamar

ASIN: B00008MLVM
Release Date: 2003-05-20

Tracks:

Violin & Clarinet Alone
Piano Alone
Clarinet, With Piano
Violin, With Piano
All Three
Violin & Clarinet Alone
Violin, With Piano
Clarinet, With Piano
Piano, With Violin & Clarinet
All Three
Symbol
Fughetta
Waltz
Passacaglia
Aria
Finale & Epilogue
Song 1
Song 2
Song 3
Song 4
Con Moto, Flessibile
Ossessivo
Antiphon: Tempo Giusto
Adagio, Cantabile

Customer Reviews:

good although not particularly adventurous.......2004-01-09

harbison has gotten much attention in recent years, especially because of his opera adaptation of the great gatsby. the pieces on this CD date back to the 80's. they don't sound much more adventurous than, say, bartok or britten, but they're enjoyable overall. the variations are scored for clarinet, violin, and piano and feature many canons. the twilight music is scored for horn, violin, and piano, and at its center it has an antiphon (i.e. anthem) that features the horn prominently and has a sort of renaissance feel. the best of the cd, however, is the four songs of solitude for solo violin. the piece alternates between pensive lyricism and darkly scherzo-like passages. as with all naxos releases, the sound quality and the performances are uniformly excellent, and the price is simply unbeatable. kudos to naxos, a budget label who thrives on putting out music by contemporary composers.

Average customer rating:

One Genuine Gem -- and a Lot of Good Music

Robert Helps: Shall We Dance

Manufacturer: Naxos American
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0001FR0L6
Release Date: 2004-03-16

Tracks:

Shall We Dance, For Piano (1994) - Robert Helps
I. Prelude
II. Intermezzo
III. Scherzo
IV. Postlude
V. Coda - The Players Gossip
Postlude For Horn, Violin And Piano
Nocturne For String Quartet - Janine Jansen
The Darkened Valley, For Piano - Robert Helps

Customer Reviews:

One Genuine Gem -- and a Lot of Good Music.......2006-08-10

Robert Helps (1928-2001) was a successful but minor American composer of the 20th Century, in the mold of Roger Sessions, his teacher. Helps' atonal music -- of the 12-tone persuasion -- is pleasant, at times downright gentle. This CD features some solo piano music and some chamber music in largely conventional forms.

The CD begins with an 11-minute solo piano piece entitled "Shall We Dance" (1994), played by the composer at a concert in Berlin that featured a very quiet audience indeed. It's the best piece on the disc, sometimes dance-like, ofttimes reflective, always attractive.

It's followed by a Piano Quartet, unique in that it begins with a long piano solo "Prelude" and only later allowing the other instruments to enter. There is also a "Postlude" for horn, violin, and piano, and a "Nocturne" for string quartet. Proving that good performances are vital to the success of a piece, the group "Spectrum Concerts, Berlin" play each number with maximum musicality, finesse, and technical acumen, turning notes on a page into compelling, committed musical statements.

The CD ends with a brief return to Mr. Helps on the piano, playing John Ireland's "The Darkened Valley" as a fourth encore on the same program as "Shall We Dance." Audience noises are again uncommon, and the recording is able to eliminate the applause that certainly followed the magical performance of the 4-minute piece.

All-in-all, a fitting tribute to an extremely talented composer. Sonics are first-rate all the way.

It's easy to overlook the many fine chamber music CDs, like this one, coming out of Naxos' "American Classics" series. My advice is don't, particularly this lovely little offering.

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1. Danse Russe {From Swan Lake}
2. Nocturne [Suite] {From Masquerade}
3. Havanaise, Op. 83
4. Introduction et Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 28
5. Romance [Suite] {From the Gadfly}
6. Main Theme {From Schindler's List}
7. Lark Ascending
8. Tzigane