"I'm surprised that no one has yet to rate and review such a wonderful album... mullova proved her worth as one of the world's leading violinist, alongside with her other recordings of Bach, Brahms and Sibelius.
Her tone is warm and techniques are quite unquestionable. This is a must-have Mendelssohn violin concerto recording even if you have gotten Cho-Liang Lin, Kyung-wha Chung's versions.
delightfully recorded together with the lesser-known violin concerto in Dm with string orchestra. I have other recordings ( Grumiax, Takezawa, Zimmerman and recently Angele Dubeau under the Analekta label) of this work which Mendelssohn wrote when he was 14 but none beats this one!
Vengerov, Sarah Chang's are also good but this is THE mendelssohn violin concerto!!!"
Crystal Clear.
Christian Jimenez | San Jose, San Jose Costa Rica | 12/31/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I love the perfect sound of this lady, my favorite violinist. I enjoy more her recents recordings, because she makes a change in her style, initially very perfect so perfect, but the beauty is not always in the perfect style, sometimes the colors of the music are directly referenced from the different nuances and little changes in the phrases, that turn the music from boring to interesting. Mendelssohn's Concert is one of the masterpieces for the violin of our times, but is not his only concert, he has other one that he compose when teenager. Many people not agree in mention this concert, because feel that Mendelssohn not had the correct maturity. BUT sincerely I enjoyed this piece because is diferrent, is a young Mendelssohn, with new ideas, and with the need of explore the world with his sound. Is a pleasure hear Ms. Mullova performing this concerto, for the enjoy of her listeners, who taste the differences between the two concerts performed with extraordinary quality."
Sensitive and warm reading
Christian Jimenez | 12/26/1998
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This artist has carptured the warmth and depth of the work. The Academy's support is both strong and respectful. A solid performance and an essential for any collectors. New, fresh and a joy!"
A cool, impersonal reading from soloist and conductor
Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 01/01/2006
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Like the other reviewers I am usually a great fan of Viktoria Mullova. She was 26 when she made these Mendelssohn recordings in 1990, having created a splash in the Eighties as first-prize winner in both the Tchaikovsky and Sibelius competitions. I expected great things, but this is a disappointing Mendelssohn E minor. It is well played technically but without fire or commitment, much less imagination. Mullova uses considerable rubato in the first two movements, but they don't sound romantic, simply pulled around. I suppose a good deal of the blame belongs to Marriner, who couldn't give a more lackluster accompaniment while remaining awake. Philips' sonics are a bit dull to boot. A miss all around.
The rarely played D minor concreto is what attracted me to this disc, but it turns out to be in Mendelssohn's proficent, faceless juvenile style, much like the numerous string symphonies. Mullova does a repeat of her cool, detached playing in the E minor, so all in all one listen was enough.