Search - Johann Sebastian Bach, Franz [Vienna] Schubert, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart :: Perspectives

Some odd choices, but Kremer is caught in some fine moments,

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 11/14/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"DG has a large catalog of recordings form Gidon Kremer, almost of them still in print. For this series of two-fers devoted to various soloists, they made some odd choices. For example, Kremer has recorded a good deal of contemporary music and is a leading champion of Schnittke's works, so why give us the Bernstein Serenade, of all things? It's a lovely work but hardly representative of Kremer's real modernism. He has a strong attachment to the Baltic states, so Spiegel im Spiegel by the Estonian composer Arvo Part makes sense, and so does the Bach Partita in E, given that Kremer is famous for playing the complete sonatas and partitas in concert.



On the other hand, I doubt that anyone is breathlessly awaiting his versions of the Bach Concerto #2 or the Mozart Concerto #3, both in very fine performances. What about Kremer the quirky, edgy classicist? His Schubert and Beethoven are often quite strange but neither is represented here. And what about Kremer's oddball wit, as exemplified in his "after Mozart" and "Happy Brithday" albums? NOt to meniton his Brahms, Beethvoen, Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, and Sibelius ocncertos. Couldn't DG have rustled up an unknown performance or two?



Enough. This is a decent intro to the great violinist's art, especially if you buy a copy on the used market."