Bruch's Violin Concerto is a real regular in my Blog, though this is the first time i've played this actual disc, Udagawa is not exactly teeming with discs to buy, but i don't know why she hasn't made more discs, it's good to get yet another angle on this work from two Artists, and it's a good solid performance, the Bruch has a nice searing intensity to it, it's a work that never outstays its welcome, i never get bored of it, even if i do listen to it fairly often.
Hideko Udagawa is Japanese, though she now makes her home in England, she made this disc in 1989, the front cover [photo by Hanya Chlala] shows Udagawa seated with her gown spread out, a nice photo.
I was in heaven listening to the central Adagio, there's a real intensity of passion there, slowly building up and up, quite a straight reading at first, but Udagawa breathes more and more drama into it, and towards the end there's a passage of full blown passion [5:17-5:46], and then right at the end there's a meek and simple rendering of the main tune [6:57-7:55], which rises for a while, but ends subdued into pathos, the acoustic has a slight tendency to sound a little far away.
Here's Joshua Bell playing the middle slow movement on YouTube.
Hideko Udagawa is Japanese, though she now makes her home in England, she made this disc in 1989, the front cover [photo by Hanya Chlala] shows Udagawa seated with her gown spread out, a nice photo.
I was in heaven listening to the central Adagio, there's a real intensity of passion there, slowly building up and up, quite a straight reading at first, but Udagawa breathes more and more drama into it, and towards the end there's a passage of full blown passion [5:17-5:46], and then right at the end there's a meek and simple rendering of the main tune [6:57-7:55], which rises for a while, but ends subdued into pathos, the acoustic has a slight tendency to sound a little far away.
Here's Joshua Bell playing the middle slow movement on YouTube.
