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Friday, January 19, 2018

Max Bruch; Henri Vieuxtemps - Violin Concertos; Scottish Fantasy (Jascha Heifetz)


Information

Composer: Max Bruch; Henri Vieuxtemps
  1. Bruch - Violin Concerto No. 1 on G minor, Op. 26: 1. Vorspiel. Allegro moderato
  2. Bruch - Violin Concerto No. 1 on G minor, Op. 26: 2. Adagio
  3. Bruch - Violin Concerto No. 1 on G minor, Op. 26: 3. Finale. Allegro energico
  4. Bruch - Scottish Fantasy, Op. 46: 1. Introduction. Grave - Adagio cantabile
  5. Bruch - Scottish Fantasy, Op. 46: 2. Allegro
  6. Bruch - Scottish Fantasy, Op. 46: 3. Adagio - Andante sostenuto
  7. Bruch - Scottish Fantasy, Op. 46: 4. Finale. Allegro guerriero
  8. Vieuxtemps - Violin Concerto No. 5 in A minor, Op. 37: 1. Allegro non troppo
  9. Vieuxtemps - Violin Concerto No. 5 in A minor, Op. 37: 2. Adagio
  10. Vieuxtemps - Violin Concerto No. 5 in A minor, Op. 37: 3. Allegro con fuoco

Jascha Heifetz, violin
New Symphony Orchestra of London
Malcolm Sargent, conductor

Date: 1961 (4-10), 1962 (1-3)
Label: RCA


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Review

When this recording was made in the early 1960s, Bruch’s First Violin Concerto ranked with the most popular concertos in the repertoire, and this version dominated the field—in addition to making the Scottish Fantasy a major work for many people, myself included. There was simply no one who could play this florid Romantic music like Heifetz. Although the mastery of his performances of war-horses like the Beethoven, Brahms, and Tchaikovsky concertos was virtually assumed, this recording and his stunning mono version of the Korngold Violin Concerto said even more about the artistry and influence of Heifetz. Tempos in the Bruch works are considerably faster than you are likely to hear now, as was the custom in the 1950s. In the Concerto, Sir Malcom Sargent generally plays the purely orchestral passages more swiftly than when he is accompanying Heifetz. This introduces an element of drama that is missing in performances that reduce the music to a syrupy wallow in slow romantic schmaltz. As a result, both the Concerto and the Scottish Fantasy gain in stature. Despite the relatively rapid tempos, the music never sounds rushed. 

The Vieuxtemps Concerto is little more than an exercise in technique with a couple of nice melodies, but Heifetz makes it sound like a minor masterpiece. Make no mistake though. This recording is about the Bruch pieces, and they have never sounded better. They have also never sounded better in a digital format. Some of Heifetz’s three-channel recordings (for example, the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto SACD) utilized the third channel to spotlight the soloist, producing the highly undesirable effect of unnaturally detaching him from the orchestra in a way you would never hear in the concert hall. In this spectacularly transparent but not at all harsh two-channel recording, both soloist and orchestra are miked closely, giving a front row perspective. It is breathtaking the way Heifetz occupies his own air space, but remains realistically blended with the orchestra. True, his luscious instrument is a bit bigger than life, but so is his performance. The clarity of the orchestral instruments in this recording is stunning. Just listen to the soft shimmer of the cymbals and the immaculate detail of every note of Osian Ellis’s harp without any unnatural spotlighting in the opening slow movement of the Scottish Fantasy . 

What else can I say? Only that this is the finest recording of Bruch’s masterpieces ever made in terms of both performance and sound. 

-- Arthur Lintgen, FANFARE

More reviews:
http://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/bruch-vieuxtemps-violin-concertos-etc
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2006/Apr06/Bruch_Heifetz_82876716222.htm
http://www.amazon.com/Bruch-Concerto-Scottish-Fantasy-Vieuxtemps/dp/B000E1NWGY
http://www.amazon.com/Bruch-Concertos-Scottish-Vieuxtemps-Concerto/dp/B000003EOY
http://www.amazon.com/Heifetz-Concerto-Scottish-Fantasy-Vieuxtemps/dp/B000003FIR

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Max Bruch (6 January 1838 in Cologne – 2 October 1920 in Berlin) was a German Romantic composer and conductor. He wrote over 200 works, including three violin concertos, and was best known for his first violin concerto, which is a staple of the violin repertory and one of the most popular Romantic violin concertos. His complex and unfailingly well-structured works, in the German Romantic musical tradition, placed him in the camp of Romantic classicism exemplified by Johannes Brahms, rather than the opposing "New Music" of Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner. In his time he was known primarily as a choral composer.

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Henri Vieuxtemps (17 February 1820 – 6 June 1881) was a Belgian composer and violinist. He occupies an important place in the history of the violin as a prominent exponent of the Franco-Belgian violin school during the mid-19th century. The bulk of Vieuxtemps's compositions were for his own instrument, including seven concertos and a variety of short salon pieces. He is also known for playing upon what is now known as the Vieuxtemps Guarneri del Gesu, built in 1741, a violin of superior workmanship. The instrument was later played by noted violin masters like Yehudi Menuhin, Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Vieuxtemps

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Jascha Heifetz (February 2 [O.S. January 20] 1901 – December 10, 1987) was a violinist, widely considered to be one of the finest violinists of modern times. Born in Vilnius, Russian Empire (now Lithuania), he moved as a teenager to the United States, where he had a long and successful performing and recording career. His near-perfect technique is regarded by many critics as unequaled and caused some critics to accuse him of being overly mechanical, even cold. Heifetz owned the 1714 Dolphin Stradivarius, the 1731 "Piel" Stradivarius, the 1736 Carlo Tononi, and the 1742 ex David Guarneri del Gesù.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jascha_Heifetz

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6 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. not my label, but heifetz i am calling "god's fiddler" in my library!

    MUCHAS GRACIAS !!! … Merci! Thank you! Obrigado! Спасибо! !ありがう! Arigato! Danke! Dziękuję! Dank je u! Mulţumesc! Teşekkür ederim! Tack! Tack så mycket! Grazie! Kiitos! תודה לך! Takk! Dakujem,ďakujem vám! Hvala! شكراً!shokran! Ευχαριστώ! 감사합니다! Děkuji! Tak skal du have! Dankon! Hvala! Najlepša hvala! Gràcies! Faleminderit! Ačiū! De’koju! Labai ačiū! ขอบคุณ! Shukrīya! بہت) شكريه (bahut)! Cảm ơn cô! Cảm ơn cô nhiều! Благодаря! Þakka þér! Baie dankie! Takk fyri! Sipas dekem! متشکرم! Благодарам! Təşəkkür! Paldies! Pateicos! Tencinu! Terima kasih! Дуже дякую! Спасибі! Баярлалаа! Гялайлаа! Танд их баярлалаа! Terima kasih! ধন্যবাদ (dhonyobād)! Salamat! Trugarez!

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    Replies
    1. Deutsche Welle: Dokumentation

      Der Geiger Jascha Heifetz - Das Gesicht der Perfektion (english original God's Fiddler: Jascha Heifetz)


      Jascha Heifetz (1901-1987), geboren in Vilnius im russischen Kaiserreich und 1917 nach Amerika ausgewandert, war zweifellos einer der größten und einflussreichsten Geigenvirtuosen seit Niccolò Paganini und der erste moderne Geiger seiner Zeit. Er begann als musikalisches Wunderkind, galt schon als 20-Jähriger als der beste Geiger der Welt und setzte mit seinen zahlreichen Schallplattenaufnahmen Maßstäbe für ein ganzes Jahrhundert. Der Film porträtiert einen Künstler, der sein Instrument mit unübertroffener Präzision beherrschte, und einen Menschen, für den nur das Perfekte ausreichend war.

      Es ist nicht übertrieben, Jascha Heifetz als den größten Violinvirtuosen seit Paganini zu bezeichnen. Peter Rosen zeigt in seinem Film historische Aufnahmen von Heifetz, aus denen ersichtlich ist, dass er der erste moderne Geiger seiner Zeit war. Itzhak Perlman äußerte sich wie folgt: "Als ich ihn sprach, dachte ich, ich glaube es nicht, ich spreche mit Gott."

      Der Film porträtiert einen Künstler, für den nur die Perfektion ausreichend war. Ein musikalisches Wunderkind, das Maßstäbe für fast ein Jahrhundert setzen sollte.

      Über private Filmaufnahmen und Familienfotos aus den Jahren 1903 bis 1987 können wir einen angesehenen Konzertgeiger erleben, der auch in der populären Kultur bekannt war. Sein Name war ein Synonym für Größe für jedermann - von Jack Benny bis zu den Muppets und Woody Allen.

      Die großen Geiger seiner Generation und viele seiner ehemaligen Schüler, die noch am Leben sind, sprechen über den legendären aber mysteriösen Menschen Heifetz und die doppelte Natur des künstlerischen Genies: das Paradox, wie ein sterblicher Mensch mit unsterblichen Talenten leben kann, Talenten, die er nutzen muss, die aber einen hohen Preis fordern. Sind der Mensch und der Künstler ein und dieselbe Person? Welchen Preis müssen Künstler und Mensch zahlen? Wer ist der Mensch hinter der Musik?


      https://mega.nz/#!q4EGFZxB!CJq6aZN15Jl-EEuu3lOV54xPogvLAQ9p63yvD1ssSNg

      Delete
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