Search - Karl Goldmark, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra :: Itzhak Perlman - Goldmark & Korngold: Violin Concertos / Previn

Excellent performance of neglected music

chefdevergue | Spokane, WA United States | 04/15/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have always loved the Goldmark concerto. When I was young, we had an battered recording of a heavily-edited version featuring Bronislaw Gimpel. When I was a little older, I coughed up a lot of money to get the sheet music for the concerto, which is when I discovered what a wonderful gem it really is. It is technically demanding, and as lyrical as any violin concerto to come out of the Romantic period. It amazed me that nobody ever seemed to perform it.



Thank god for Perlman. It has been a part of his standard repetoire for more than 3 decades now. Rather than re-recording the old warhorses for the umpteenth time, he will sometimes go after neglected pieces like the Goldmark and the Korngold, with wonderful results. The Goldmark has some minor cuts in it, but nothing too drastic. Other than the violin sounding a little lit in contrast to the orchestra, the sound quality should satisfy everyone.



This has been a favorite disc in my collection for many years. If you don't know these concerti, here is the best introduction, short of playing them yourself, that I could recommend."

Excellent playing of these 2 comtemporary works

chefdevergue | 05/31/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a nice coupling of 2 less known comtemparary violin concertos. Perlman is at his usual best and is accompanied well by Previn/Pittsburgh SO. In particular, the Korngold concerto measures up to Heifetz's legendary recording. Moreover, the sound is clear and balance is good. A highly recommended disc for both collectors and casual listeners."

As is always true with Perlman, this is great cd

chefdevergue | 04/16/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I got this cd sort of blindly. I had never before heard either the Goldmark or the Korngold. But since Perlman was the soloist I thought there's a good chance it'll be good. I was right. I immediately liked the Goldmark with its powerful themes. It was just the kind of thing I like. With the Korngold though, I was at first hesitant to like it. I thought the last movement was fine, but I wasn't too familiar with contemporary works. After a while of listening to it though, I began to like it more and more. If you don't like it at first, I think you need to aquire the taste for it. You probably won't like it a whole lot at first, especially if you have not listened to too much contemporary (It's contemporary, but on a much lighter scale). Now, I feel that the third movement is one of the greatest I've heard. As for the rest of it, the whole song is very beautiful with a great violinic lyricism. I was not disappointed in the least with the cd, and anyone planning on getting; I'm sure you'll love it."