Search - Mozart, Julia Fischer, Yakov Kreizberg :: Mozart: Violin Concertos

Super!

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 11/06/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Julia Fischer is a young (b. 1983) German violinist who seems to be making lots of CDs these days. She has previously recorded a CD of Russian violin concertos and another of Bach Partitas and Sonatas, among others, and they have received very positive reviews. My take on this CD will add to that acclaim. This is a very talented, musicianly and exciting violinist. She is given sensitive, historically-informed accompaniment by Yakov Kreizberg and the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra. And the sound, both in the SACD and the plain vanilla CD versions -- both contained on this hybrid disc -- is exemplary. The orchestral sound is transparent -- one can hear everything -- and yet the soloist stands out. Fischer's use of a variety of tone and vibrato is outstanding. Her management of dynamics is extremely subtle and rewarding. Her phrasing is limpid, classical; she clearly understands the difference between the kind of sound needed in her previous recording of concerti by Khachaturian, Prokofiev and Glazunov and the purity required by Mozart. Not only that, she supplies her own very nice (and not self-servingly outré) cadenzas in several of the movements. The cadenza for the slow movement of the Third Concerto was written by Kreizberg. Only in the last movement of the Fourth Concerto does Fischer use the cadenza we're most familiar with, that of Joseph Joachim. The cadenza in the finale of the Third is by Sam Franko (a name new to me) with an emendation by Fischer herself.



To round out the disc and bring its timing up to a full 60 minutes, Fischer and her colleagues give us the Adagio for Violin and Orchestra in E major, K. 261, and the Rondo for Violin and Orchestra in B Flat major, K. 269. These are rarely heard but are welcome additions to the CD.



I would welcome any new recordings Ms Fischer chooses to make. I would love to hear her perform the Sibelius concerto. I suspect that would be sensational. But I would also love to hear her play the other Mozart concerti (although 3 & 4 are my favorites) as well as the Sinfonia concertante with, say, her German colleague, violist Tabea Zimmermann. There are other wonderful recordings of the Third and Fourth Concerti, but this CD deserves to stand with them.



An easy recommendation.



Scott Morrison"

An outstanding and moving performance

C. Razzell | California, United States | 12/08/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Julia Fischer doesn't just turn in an easy-listening Mozart; she gives us a rare and moving performance. The cadenzas will melt your soul as will the Adagio movement of Concerto #3 in G. The fact that she wrote 5 of the candenzas and augmented the 6th shows that she has stunning self confidence and poise. The same could be said for someone who records Bach's Sonatas & Partitas for Solo Violin at her young age. But I say if you've got the talent, flaunt it. And she has it in spades. If you take a listen to the three recordings she has out on Pentatone at the moment, (The present work, Bach's Sonatas & Partitas for Solo Violin, and Russian violin concertos by Aram Khachaturian, Serge Prokofiev and Alexander Glazunov) you will immediately perceive her extraordinary versitility in these widely different idioms, and the commitment and talent she brings to each of these (normally) duanting undertakings.



You will not regret this purchase. I certainly plan to buy anything with her name on it for some time to come."

More Quality Classical Music Listening

T. Holbrook | Salt Lake City, UT USA | 04/08/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I do not claim to be an expert in classical music but I do enjoy listening to good classical music often. This recording of Mozart Violin Concertos is one that I have enjoyed listening too over and over. I would not hesitate recommending it to anyone who enjoys classical music that highlights the romantic violin."