Search - Ludwig van Beethoven, Leonard Bernstein, David Zinman :: Beethoven: Violin Concerto; Bernstein: Serenade

Barb F. from SAINT LOUIS, MO
Reviewed on 1/6/2008...

Great violin music - a joy to listen to

For God's Sake Let's Hear Hilary, Not the Orchestra!!!!!

Richard E. Doucet | San Diego, CA United States | 11/02/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The first thing you ask me is do I like this CD. Yes, it's very pretty. How about the recording? Actually, I don't like the sound engineering. How about the performer Hilary Hahn? She's fantastic!I've been listening to Hilary for less than six months, since discovering her by chance. After about 30 seconds I came to the conclusion that this girl is as great a violinist as I've ever heard. Her intonation is perfect, her tone gorgeous, like velvet, better than Heifitz. I've heard them all. Hilary is from the Bel Canto school of violin playing.Unfortunately, I can't give similar praise to the sound engineering. Several of your reviewers have complained about Miking, too close, too far. Well, I guess it comes down to whether or not you want to hear Hilary or the Orchestra. I bought this recording to hear Hilary and what I got was a solo recording of the orchestra with Hilary struggling to be heard in the background. I agree that the orchestral part of Beethoven's only violin concerto is beautiful but I've been listening to it for 61 years (I'm 72) and I think I've got it down. Conversely, I was trained in the violin and I want to hear the violinist and if you drown out the violinist with the orchestra how can I hear what Hilary is doing? Let me put it another way. Is this a violin concerto or an orchestra concerto?By the way, the same comments can be made of Sony Classic's CD of Hilary Hahn playing Mendelssohn's violin concerto. Also, why do you mix Beethoven and Bernstein or Mendelssohn and Shostakovich. Too each his own but the styles of these composers are very different. More power to those who like both but why don't you put Bernstein and Shostakovich on the same CD together and Beethoven and Mendelssohn on another. That would double my pleasure and save me some money.So the CD is worth every penny you pay for it just to hear Hilary Hahn in the background."

Sets the current-day standard of performance

Carl C. Nelson | Thompson Station, TN USA | 07/17/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Hilary Hahn's recording of Beethoven's great Violin Concerto sets the standard for contemporary performances of this piece. Her technique alone would make her a great musician. What is even more impressive is that she applies her technique in a thoughtful, musical manner. A recording musician today should be able to give an adequate technical performance of any given piece--what separates Hahn from the rest is that the music comes first, with her technique as its outlet, rather than the music being a showcase for talent.The Beethoven Violin Concerto is indisputably one of the top violin (or any instrument, for that matter) concertos ever written. It is a remarkable piece in that it is not as note-heavy as, say, Tchaikovsky's, but is more complex. The second movement is especially wonderful, beginning with a longer-than-typical theme by the soloist that is at its heart simple, yet elegant. The soloist then guides the orchestra in exploring the theme, leading it down one path, then following another, agreeing here, contrasting there. It's a doctoral thesis in the art of the concerto as a conversation between soloist as master of his or her craft and orchestra as equal partners.The thing that Beethoven did so well that none will ever be his equal at it is to take a relatively simple theme--I, a non-musician, can play the main themes from two of the greatest symphonies ever composed, the Fifth and the Ninth, on my toddler's five-note toy piano!--and make it great through repetition and variation of melody and harmony. Beethoven could write a piece that used the same theme a hundred times and you'd still feel like it was fresh at the conclusion. So it is with the third movement of this concerto.Hahn and Zinman excel in this recording because they capture the essence of this music--simple themes musically done in a manner where both soloist and orchestra contribute. One certainly wouldn't have Zinman and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra on the tip of one's tongue when asked about the greatest orchestras today--thoroughly competent, to be sure, but not the best of the best. What Zinman does so well in this recording is to not exaggerate the piece. The dynamics and tempos of the piece are kept in a moderate range--no fireworks where a candle is called for. And perhaps as a great athlete improves the abilities of teammates, so Hahn lends her technique, restraint, and intelligence to the orchestra.Let's face it, no one's buying this for the Bernstein. It's a good performance of a decent piece, but it's not why you'll reach for this CD over and over. It's something of an ironic pairing; if ever there was a conductor who bludgeons listeners with Beethoven (outside of an excellent recording of the Third with the Vienna Philharmonic) more than Bernstein I don't know who it is.Wrapping up: this CD has joined the Menuhin/Furtwangler recording as my favorite performance of this supreme Violin Concerto."