Sibelius, Khachaturian: Violin Concertos

Editorial Reviews
Rob Barnett, Editor, Classical Music on the Web
"Glorious in the Khachaturian; fine playing in the Sibelius. Seek out this disc... FOUR STARS (Five for the Khachaturian) " --Rob Barnett, Editor, Classical Music on the Web

Steve Holtje, Senior Editor, Classical, CDNow
" ... one of the very best violinists currently active, probably even the best in Romantic repertoire. Here, he ventures into somewhat later styles yet sounds completely at ease... " --Steve Holtje, Senior Editor, Classical, CDNow

Sibelius, Khachaturian: Violin Concertos

Tracks:

Allegro Moderato
Adagio Di Molto
Finale (Allegro Ma Non Tanto)
Allegro Moderato
Andante Sostenuto
Allegro A Battuta

Customer Reviews:

Khachatryan and Sibelius.......2007-02-10

I was curious to hear this recording because one of my students recommended it highly. Sure enough, I was quite impressed, especially by the Sibelius. But I had objections, too. In terms of tone, general technique and intonation, Sergey lacks very little. His playing is often very beautiful. He has the gift of expression 'between the notes', the notes falling naturally and gracefully on the fingerboard. The playing is never boring. There is great clarity in the general execution. Nothing inhibits him. Phrases make sense. They breathe.

What's wrong? He occasionally looses presence as the soloist. There are two occasions in the first movement, at the beginning of an entrance, where there just isn't enough sound to carry the musical argument. At first I thought it might be a problem with the recording balance. But after the second movement, I was convinced otherwise. Sergey generally takes a symphonic approach to this work, at times participating on an equal footing with the orchestra. This can be admirable, especially in Mozart or Beethoven. But not in Sibelius. For instance, at the very opening of the second movement, the violin is much too soft. It is an intimate opening, for sure, but the violin has to dominate nonetheless. Another instance, at the ascending octave scales against the descending ones in the winds, the soloist is barely heard (especially at the bottom). Because of this curious lack of presence, the 2nd movement hardly resonates. The violin part seems almost an obbligato voice to the full orchestra. The third movement fares much better. Sibelius often pits the natural tessitura of the violin against low sounds in the orchestra, so the violin stands out more. But even the scales right before the final flourish are much too subdued.

All in all, I would say that this was a bold attempt to interpret the Sibelius in a personal way, by an extremely gifted, young violinist. And to that extent, Bravo! Whether it is entirely successful or not depends on the listener. To this one, not quite so.

the best.......2005-06-04

By no means whimsically or freshly swayed by the beauty of the music itself, and after having listened to various interpretations including those of patent greats, it is clear to me that this work of Khachatryan's is the most measured, exact, and mellifluous of all. There is simply so much symmetry, meter in his notes. Yet, there is also fire, and so much more ever suggested. The only critique I can think of is that I WISH I could hear it live. This rendition belongs in the place where music meets itself -- realizing it sometimes forgets where it comes from: the genius of 2, and not one!

As for Khachatryan on Kchaturian, the oddysey continued.

Sibelius & Khatchaturian, by Khachatryan: Superb Music.......2004-10-05

We all know that fields of gravity cross and criss-cross our local solar system as planets spin in their orbits around our sun. We also may know of the immense amount of space debris that flurries this way and that, here and there and seemingly everywhere. When you put the two realities together, you may feel you are walking down a historic but neglected city street where the character of the neighborhood has fallen prey to transience and forgetfulness and poverty. We peer dimly into an unglorious human future for our civilization that promises only to be punctuated with inevitable crisis as one brute hand of circumstance or the other hammers in fits against the nearest wall of the human heart. If you find yourself noticing the dimming lights of humanism in our current era, then by all means you should get this CD and listen to it repeatedly before you make any major decisions.

Like a rising star against the velvet horizon edging an otherwise vaulted and gloomy night sky, the fiddler here is a new talent named Sergey Khachatryan. After listening to this disc, I am very pleased to report that he is indeed the genuine article. His energy and innocence demonstrate how much he still loves music. Unlike some artists of his generation, ... he is barely out of his late teens, ... the sheer physicality of his playing somehow demonstrates how profoundly one with his instrument a great artist may become. Sergey has apparent complete mastery of all that his fiddle may offer .... as if he were that magic Rumpelstiltskin of fairy tale who could spin gold from straw. This Sergey can also spin music shining with silver, platinum, and that rarest of metals ....joi de vivre. His fiddle is a Guarnerius on loan from some German fans, and he uses it to incredible and glorious effect. You are no doubt vulnerable to this spell to the extent that you may have been feeling like a princess locked in a high tower, away from the air and the sun and the green beauty of the fields. You may start to think that the violin is surely the King of Instruments.

Though Sergey is undoubtedly a representative of the true Russian school of violin playing, he represents an uncommon amalgam of talent with heritage. His string tone has a true emotional center, glowing with the sort of hot penetrating fire we have previously come to know and love in many Russian string players. Sergey's hot sound does not suffer any detriment from being compared with, say, David Oistrakh himself. But Sergey also has something else, something more. He has a kind of celestial luminosity and a Russian elegance (think, Leonid Kogan?) that transform and complete his string tone. The result is that his upper registers penetrate directly to the heart, without requiring any added noise or over-acting. At fast or slow tempos, his musical sound breathes or hovers or dances. Phrased alchemy purges all the base metals and leaves only the purest and most gleaming tonal treasure behind. This sort of fiddle playing is more ballet than athletics or tumbling.

It is no surprise to read that Kachatryan won the Helsinki Sibelius prize, several years back when he was only fifteen years old. Here on this CD he surely recreates, or perhaps even surpasses, that pinnacle. Sergey puts his considerable gifts completely at the disposal of the composer. He conjures both the composer as ordinary human being and as a kind of Finnish mystic. This CD is the first one in a very long time that I thought could rub shoulders with the legendary Jascha Heifitz recording, and hold a decent musical conversation with that great master as an equal. If anything, Khachatryan surpasses Heifitz in depth and breadth of deep humanity. Sergey has an uncanny yet musical heart as big as the famed Finnish forests.

To fill out the remainder of the disc, we are treated to Armenian composer Aram Khatchaturian's only violin concerto. On most fiddles, with most players, this concerto turns into an over-heated folk-festival of garish colors and heavy-handed dramatic pointing for both the solo violin and the rest of the orchestra. It is too easy for this concerto to go nowhere.

Applying himself, Sergey returns this concerto safely and brilliantly to the musical center. He finds narrative where other fiddlers find only repetition. He never, ever has to be loud to be convincing. The orientalized musical noodling in the slow movement that wears on your nerves with so many other fiddlers, becomes ever so mysteriously whispered. You find yourself hearing the authentic yet exotic voice of that famous story-teller, Sheherazade herself. There is perfume and romance, but communicatively embodied. I don't think I have ever before wanted to repeat the slow movement. But Sergey made me hear the Armenian soul of this concerto.

Well I have been so taken with the fiddler that I have hardly mentioned the conductor and the orchestra. They deserve high praise, too. The Sinfonia Varsovia is a wonderful band that can sound perfect for Mozart, but too small for Beethoven. Let loose upon the late Romantic breadth of each of these concertos, they finally sound perfectly fine for both. Emmanuel Krivine keeps tempos moving, but he never sounds superficial or rushed. He never seems to be embarrassed by the music's large gesture or the massed heft of the orchestra. He is content to be background for the soloist without lapsing in attention. The woodwinds are particularly distinguished. Thus, the wonder of this young fiddler is recognized and encouraged and fully supported by all involved. You feel as if everyone in Sinfonia Varsovia was paying just as much attention to their music, as was Sergey to his own. You feel that Krivine values both concertos as music of symphonic scope and power. In short, this CD can be very highly recommended on all counts. It is, indeed, a five star labor of great love.

STAR FROM THE EAST.......2004-07-24

It would be interesting to try a minor experiment with this record. Play some extract from it - almost any part would do - to some experienced musicians and ask them simply to picture the soloist. If the image of a small and slightly-built teenager comes to anyone's mind I shall be very surprised indeed. In his contribution to the liner note Sergey Khachatryan notes that his next project is to be Shostakovich. It was in Shostakovich that I heard him two weeks ago with the BBC Philharmonic, and mightily impressed I was. What Khachatryan's playing has is quality - quality in the tone, quality in the phrasing, quality in the rhythm, and I need hardly say total and perfect quality in the intonation.

This record was made in July 2003. It was time to get a cd version of the Sibelius anyhow to supplement my LP account of the first recording of the work, done in 1935 but sounding surprisingly well still, by Heifetz and Beecham, and this particular soloist struck me as a good bet. So it has turned out. For me, the Sibelius concerto sometimes works and sometimes not. In his thoughtful book on the composer Robert Layton hints that its style is not completely consistent, and I have heard many performances that leave me feeling the same way. From the symphonies it would be hard to imagine Sibelius as a concerto writer, not a difficulty one would experience in listening to Mozart Beethoven or Brahms as symphonists. Nothing in the finales of the Sibelius symphonies is remotely suggestive of concerto style for one thing. When it comes to the bit, Sibelius turns out a finale in something at least resembling the normal idiom of such, a slow movement with more 19th century lyricism than is customary from him, and a first movement that is a strange mixture of that kind of lyricism and a remote cold idiom that reminds me that the fourth symphony was not far in the future. This is presumably what left Mr Layton less than convinced, but the right artists can overcome the difficulty as I have always felt Heifetz and Beecham do triumphantly. And now here is Khachatryan, with the Sinfonia Varsovia under Emmanuel Krivine, pulling off the trick again. Speeds in the outer movements are a little slower, but speed is not the issue. The issue is -- is this work really coherent? If it can be, it must be.

Khachaturian, for me, is not really a heavyweight composer. He is not quite so relentlessly traditional in idiom as Myaskovsky, but nothing here and not much elsewhere in his work can surely have given much difficulty to Zhdanov. Naturally the Armenian elements in his music have a special significance for the soloist, and even from my own standpoint the slow movement, a very long one, rises to real eloquence particularly near the end. The soloist shows the same mastery as in the Sibelius, although I fancy his task was a little easier, and the work is a thoroughly welcome addition to my collection.

In general I was impressed by the Sinfonia Varsovia, particularly by some vivid woodwind work in the first movement of the Sibelius. The recording is good in general too, if just a touch rowdy in some of the bigger tuttis, but we have got used to such a high standard these days that we can now afford to be very particular indeed. I feel privileged to have heard an emerging superstar so early in his career. If he is as mature and accomplished as this now, what is he going to develop into? I read his plans with interest in the liner note. These are fairly conservative, as I suppose we might expect at this stage, and I might even be persuaded to listen to the Tchaikovsky concerto if I get the chance to hear it from Khachatryan.

A Stunning Début.......2004-06-05

I had the pleasure of hearing the American recital début of violinist Sergey Khachatryan a year or so ago. I was extremely impressed by his playing - not only his virtuosity and élan but the remarkable maturity for someone so young; he was born in 1985. I've been on the lookout for any recordings he might make. This disc containing both the Sibelius and Khachaturian concerti lives up to my expectations. Indeed, I would put his Sibelius performance up against any I've ever heard. I can't pretend to have heard all the extant recordings of the Sibelius but I am familiar with those of Leonid Kavakos (in both versions - with the original finale as well as the one Sibelius replaced it with), Mutter, Mullova, Perlman, and of the irreplaceable Oistrakh. The best performance I ever heard live was an incandescent one by Pinchas Zukerman. Khachatryan may be over the top at times in this piece, especially in the finale, but the concerto can benefit from this kind of all-out approach. The Sinfonia Varsovia, which I take to have a rather smallish string section, has a lean sound that actually benefits the piece. Conductor Emmanuel Krivine occasionally lets the music almost bog down in the second movement and I truly believe he is led away from that by the relaxed but always forward-moving playing of his soloist, young Mr Khachatryan. The sound of the orchestra at the beginning of that second movement is ravishing and it is matched by the stunning sotto voce entrance of the soloist.

The Khachaturian benefits from a red-blooded performance; this is not subtle music. The orchestra's lean profile could have benefitted from a fuller string sound, but it's not a big matter. I feel fairly sure that Khachatryan's Armenian background informs his feel for the folk-inflected melodies used by his Armenian near-namesake, Aram Khachaturian; this is particularly true in the melismatic Orientalisms of the second movement. In the faster passages there is a raw energy and edge in Khachatryan's playing that makes the music almost unbearably visceral, and I suspect that this is precisely the approach Khachaturian had in mind. Whether or no, it is an exciting reading. Young Khachatryan has slancio to spare and he is matched in this by Krivine and his Polish orchestra. Again, the benchmark recording for this concerto is David Oistrakh's 1944 effort, but Khachatryan's is in very nearly the same class and has the advantage of being in modern sound. I must add, though, that there is a spiffy new recording on Naxos played by Mihaela Martin that also includes Khachaturian's less-known 'Concerto Rhapsody' for violin and orchestra. Still, this one is a bit more exhilarating.

Highly recommended.

Tracks:

Allegro Moderato
Adagio Di Molto
Allegro Ma Non Tanto
Allegro
Adante Sostenuto
Allegro Vivace

Customer Reviews:

Rosand at his best-again.......2001-12-11

No superlatives can do justice to the music-making of Aaron Rosand. Here are more examples: The somewhat somber Sibelius embellished with Rosand's usual romantic touches - simply superb,
and an incredible performance of the seldom-heard Khachaturian.

Temperament and Tone.......2001-11-06

Though all the usual attributes of a Rosand performance are present --- technique, temperament, and tone --- I can't say these recordings rank in the top third of his many recorded performances. Rosand has been consistently let down by his orchestral partners. The Sibelius, in particular, lacks heft here. The bristling utterances that should reinforce the violin's dramatic statements do not excite; I felt an overall lack of involvement from the orchestra. The Sibelius is rife with passionate themes, and when a first-class string section such as the Philadelphia carries them, you feel it in the gut. If Dylana Jensen could get Ormandy (what a partner!) as a virtual unknown, then where does that leave Mr. Rosand? It's sad.

At this stage in his career, Rosand cannot quite generate the whirlwind of sound that placed him in the forefront of his generation, so it is all the more important that he have a strong ally. The Khachaturian comes through much better; the Malaysian group has the necessary mechanical precision to bring it off and the recording is generous with the color.

In summary, the Sibelius is worth it only if you want to hear Rosand's ideas on the solo part.

Fanfare Magazine March/April 2001.......2001-03-15

At an age at which Heifetz was contemplating retirement and Elman should have been, Aaron Rosand issued a commanding, authoritative recording of the Beethoven and Brahms Concertos (Vox VXP 7902, 22:4). Now, two years later, he has paired a craggy Sibelius with a kinetic Khachaturian, evincing full command of the works' power and exoticism, respectively. Only Milstein and perhaps Shumsky could boast such violinistic longevity (consider, for example, Elman's senescent and deliberate, if genial, reading of Khachaturian's Concerto from his 69th year, which hardly approaches Rosand's in technical assurance).

Aaron Rosand's sound has varied little through his recorded career: it's robust and rugged, with a mild acidity that, highlighting almost every note, sets his tone apart from the blander, smoother, and smaller timbres of younger players (and almost every player now is younger). That sound owes a share of its individuality, of course, to the magnificent Kochanski Guarneri of 1741, which, as Rosand says, has been his voice for 43 years; but it's the result of a complex interaction between that violin and a master who undoubtedly could, as Heifetz did, project his individuality through any instrument (having heard Rosand try violins at William Moennig and Son's shop in Philadelphia, I can confirm the stability of his sound, at least in that setting, across platforms). But far from merely luxuriating in his recognizable tone, Rosand laces whatever he performs with strong fiber, an essential toughness that reveals itself as tellingly in lesser-known works like Joachim's Hungarian (Vox CDX 5102) and Arensky's (Vox 7211, 23:4) Concertos, which were for a long time almost his private domain, as in masterworks like Tchaikovsky's Concerto (again Vox 7211) or Bach's Solo Sonatas and Partitas (Vox VXP2 7901, 22:2).

Rosand's waves of inspiration lash against granite in the Sibelius Concerto's first movement; he sings warmly in its second (the trace of acid in his tone ensuring that the music won't cloy) and slashes masterfully through the finale's craggy darkness-all the while demonstrating the durability of his tonal and stylistic personality through his 71st year. If Khachaturian's Concerto doesn't provide him as many such opportunities for discovery, he and conductor Kees Bakels engage in a cogent dialogue in the first movement's middle section, and he brings a jazzy cheek to the cadenza's closing passages. The second movement's sprawl may be due more to its materials than its performers; but, in any case, Rosand and Bakels come to life again in the alternately sprightly and brassy finale.

The decline in influence of Heifetz's benchmark recordings has freed violinists to invest Sibelius's Concerto with fresh insight; and Rosand's new performance joins recent ones by Maxim Vengerov and Joshua Bell in transfusing new personality into the work. And whether or not Mozart's Emperor would judge that Khachaturian's Concerto has too many notes, Rosand plays each of them with twangy zest. That sizzle sets him apart from violinists like Oscar Shumsky, who, despite-or because of-their unvarnished merit, appeal more to colleagues than to general audiences. By comparison, Rosand's a demagogue, rotund in oratory and resonant in vocal quality. Vox's engineers have provided depth and clarity appropriate to Sibelius' Concerto (but with a close focus on the soloist) and have captured reasonably well Khachaturian's dollops of sound, generously dished out by Bakels and the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra.

All lovers of the violin, and general listeners as well, may count themselves fortunate that Rosand's artistry isn't available only in reissue, and that his playing maintains, or exceeds, a level familiar from his recordings a generation ago. Strongly recommended.

Robert Maxham

Outstanding new recording.......2001-02-07

This is an outstanding new version of these 2 masterpieces. Rosand plays with as much passion as anyone, and the orchestral accompaniments are excellent. At the bargain price this cd is a must.

..........2001-02-02

I love everything about this recording -- the Sibelius is absolute magic and the Khatchaturian is as exciting as they get.

Sibelius & Khachaturian: Violin Concertos

Average customer rating:

Sibelius & Khachaturian: Violin Concertos

Manufacturer: Nimbus Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00008FH39
Release Date: 1992-12-02

Average customer rating:

Sibelius & Khachaturian: Violin Concertos

Manufacturer: Nimbus
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00000E09S
Release Date: 1991-01-01

Track Listings:

Track Listings

track listings

Track Listings

Dark Horse

Flute Music at the Berlin Court

High Land, Hard Rain

Bags' Groove [Original recording remastered]

Building the Bridge [Import]

Hot Boyz [CD-single]

Guys and Dolls [Cast Recording]

Grieg: Music for Piano

Endless Soul

Epiphany: Medieval Byzantine Chant for the Feasts on January 1st and 6th

Dixieland's Greatest Hits

Disco de Oro

Cuba Y Puerto Rico Son

Sad Street

Kansas City Swing