Search - Sibelius, Dvorak, Mintz :: Violin Concerti

Full of color and unique expression

Scott68 | Columbus, Ohio United States | 02/13/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Sibelius was himself a violinist from Finland, his concerto is easily one of the best and most important ever made. The concerto was finished in 1904 but edited in 1905 because Sibelius was worried that it was too technical. There is so much romance and beauty in this music while still offering the virtuoso a challenge; completely enjoyable for performer and listener alike. I think it would be hard not to fall in love with this music even if you are listening for the first time.Dvorak was a Czech composer and the folk music of his country had a big influence on the rhythm and style of his music. The concerto was written for Joseph Joachim in 1879 and was revised twice. Dvorak was very much his own man and developed his own sense of harmony and style, very different then Beethoven and Brahms but seemingly influenced by their greatness. The music has such a powerful opening and is intensely lyrical throughout. The second movement is one of the most soothing and beautiful slow pieces I have ever heard. Schlomo Mintz is one of the most overlooked soloists I have ever heard, I still remember the first time I hard his recording of the Paganini Caprices: how unique and full of color his interpretation was, it was clear to me that no one played like him and that he found his own sound. I remember thinking that anyone who can play Paganini like that should be heard. Back when napster was still around, I was able to partially download a section of the Dvorak and was amazed yet again at his great tone and sense of unique expression. That was it, I knew I had to go out and get all the recordings I could find by him, only to find out that most of them are out of print and very rare for the most part. Finally, I was able to acquire a copy used on ebay but have since seen marketplace sellers offer this CD here at Amazon.com. I am terribly fond of both recordings on here even though they are not completely my favorites. The thing is that I can't listen to one person play the same piece over and over so I like to listen to different people play the same work and hopefully they are both great but different. Therefore I recommend Shaham and Neveu for the Sibelius and Perlman and Oistrakh for the Dvorak in addition to this CD.Also note that Kavakos has recorded the original and unedited Sibelius Concerto and Kang recorded pieces for violin and orchestra by Sibelius that are not on this disk. All of the recordings mentioned above are completely worthwhile and recommended."

Dvorak Good, Sibelius Boring

teva_man | United States | 02/01/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Shlomo Mintz's recordings are usually great, but this pairing of the Dvorak and Sibelius is semi-disappointing. The Sibelius is competent but in a word, it sounds very pinched. Except for the first movement second cadenza, Mintz's usually large, sweet tone is nowhere to be found. Many passages are glossed over and unsavored, particularly in the second and third movements. This concerto is all about abandonment and passion, of which Mintz displays precious little. The Dvorak is better, and there are some pleasing moments. But as in the Sibelius, he makes some some odd choices musically - in particularly, the phrasing in the third movement. The phrasing of the main theme (in the solo part) has to match what the orchestra violins are doing, otherwise it sounds laughably bad.

If you want better recordings - for the Sibelius, I'd recommend Cho-Liang Lin or Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg. For the Dvorak, Milstein or Stern.

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