Search - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven, Felix Mendelssohn :: Orchestral Excerpts for Violin

This man is a genius!

04/11/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The first time I heard William Preucil play "live," it was the Symphony No. 5 by Shostakovich. He was a young man and my expectations weren't ready for what came next. Having collected all of the top recordings, I ran home after the concert to confirm, this guy played -- far and away -- better than any recording I had ever heard. The last time I heard William Preucil play "in person," it was a Mozart Divertimento with a chamber orchestra. How often do you go crazy over a violin solo from a Mozart Divertimento? Although Mr. Preucil's solos were extended, not a single note went by without the entire audience sitting on the edge of their seats, riveted. Years later, I was in a CD shop talking about recordings of violinists when the shop owner mentioned, "the most memorable" violin solo he had ever heard. It was William Preucil's performance that night, of this Mozart Divertimento. I wasn't the only one to maintain that recollection. Next, I was in a movie theater where the New York City Ballet's production of the Nutcracker had been released as a feature film. Having recently studied and listened to EVERY recording available to Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty Ballet, I was surprised during the film to hear the big violin solo from Sleeping Beauty suddenly begin during a film adaptation of Nutcracker. More surprising, it was obvious to me that the violinist here was better than any recording (ever made, probably) of the Sleeping Beauty ballet. My precise thoughts were, "This playing is as good as William Preucil...I guess violinists are getting better because I thought only he was this good!" I waited through the end credits, because I had to know the name of this violinist whose playing is equal to my memory of William Preucil. I had to smile when the end credits said, "William Preucil, concertmaster." Not surprisingly, William Preucil is now concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra. There is nobody like him on the planet and all I can say is, if you are interested in violin playing at all, you cannot afford to pass up on this incredible opportunity to hear Mr. Preucil play and give "advice" on some great excerpts from the orchestral literature for violin. The man is a genius!"

Valuable asset

athena | nc | 03/15/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This cd is a valuable asset for the aspiring professional violinist. It's the next best thing to having a lesson on these orchestral excerpts."