Saint-Saens - Violin Concerto 3 [Chee Yun /Lopez Cobos-London Philharmonic Orchestra]

This is a truly wonderful disc, found for half price new in a record store, it's a darling of a coupling, and it was hard to choose between these two when it came to deciding which should get in my Blog, they are both such wonderful works, the Lalo i know and love better, and certainly i've played more, but in listening to this today, i just felt that Saint-Saens pips it, plus it's a riveting performance as well, this appeared in my Blog five years ago [24th August 2010].

Kim Chee-Yun is South Korean, she's now 45, now the front cover is one of those truly inspired photos [by Nancy Ellison], Chee-Yun on a beach, violin in hand, and gown flowing in the wind, the picture set at an angle, i love the lettering, and the Denon logo is great, what a fantastic finished product.

This Concerto started off great, and got better and better the longer i listened to it, thus it was the last movement that i enjoyed the best, it's a great culmination to all that has gone before and a fitting end to the Concerto, Saint-Saens knows how to bring all the threads together into something satisfying, it starts of inauspiciously, with a sort of solo violin cadenza versus orchestra, but it's only an intro to the movement proper, a dazzling show of virtuosity, it has a tendency to go all over the place, one of the major triumphant tunes comes through quickly [2:33-3:10], both violin and orchestra make the most of a lovely moment of glory, there's sweet tenderness to [4:02-5:36], where both violin and orchestra play delicately, and right afterwards Chee-Yun plays some fun and scintillating playing [5:36-6:10], and after the intro at the start comes back, so does that excellent scintillating violin playing [7:25-7:54], eventually of course the orchestra build up and up into a glorious majestic tune [9:04-9:26], in the last minute the violin gets to have some of the most dazzling music [9:51-10:31], especially towards the end of this little section [10:12+], and both orchestra an violin have a bravura ending.

Here's Julia Fischer playing this movement on YouTube.

Bartok - Violin Concerto 2 [Tetzlaff/Gielen-The London Philharmonic]

Bartok is one of my 'problem' Composers, certain Composers are really hard to get into, hard to understand, their works aren't easy to like, there's complexities galore within his works, yes i can hear good stuff too, the architecture of pieces are hard to fathom at times, Bartok for me can be like a poem in a different language that i can barely grasp, i can see that there's something to really fall in love with here, i just can't seem to get over this language barrier, this is the fourth time i've listened to this disc, and the second time it's appeared in my Blog [23rd January 2011], plus i have a few other recordings too, so i guess i've extensively listened to this work, my 'fear' is that i'll give up on this work, when there's treasures to be had for those that put the time and effort in to come to know it, plus i believe if i can surmount this work, then it can be used as a 'bridge' to access other 'hard' works, don't get me wrong, i did enjoy this music today, and i did understand it enough, but i'm still baffled by it at the same time.

Christian Tetzlaff is German, he's now 49, this work was recorded in 1990, so already 25 years old, and Tetzlaff was half the age he is now, the front cover is superb [by Frank Behrend], a warm glow of a picture, full of browns and oranges, with a lovely highlight on the violin, and a jet black background, the cream and white lettering really stands out on this background, the finished product is excellent.

Well i have to say it's again the first movement that i felt that i'm closest to cracking, it without doubt has one of the most ingenious introductions for a work, a strumming on the harp, and pizzicato strings [0:00-0:16], my only problem with this recording is that it's a bit too quiet, and then in comes the violin, and has a tendency to go all over the place, at times it's hard to follow the musical language, but the initial opening violin musings give way to a major strong orchestral tutti [1:44-2:02], but it's language of chopping and changing all over the place continues, fast music is interspersed with slow reflective stuff, there's one of these mysterious passages three minutes in [3:06-4:03], ghostly strings, oboes too, but like everything else comes to an abrupt end, all sorts of strange sound are created by Bartok, angry trumpets [4:43-4:49] with growling brass, sounds just pop out of nowhere to almost 'scare' you, is Bartok creating some sort of 'zoo' of sounds, quiet woodwinds weave a spell of magic [5:20+], and a little later the basses do the same [5:51-5:58], and then out of nowhere the violin plays frantic fast music [7:01-7:32] while the brass and percussion reply tersely, totally out of character to what came before, and develops into superfast bowing by Tetzlaff [7:32-7:50], with the same brass / percussion stabbings, there's this kaleidoscopic feel to the whole thing, if you know how a kaleidoscope works, twist the barrel slightly, and a whole new image appears, there's a cacophony of trumpets / brass [9:21-9:51], really well done, the violin has some downward sour glissandos [10:41 / 10:44 / 11:21], Bartok throws everything into the crazy stew, and at times the violin can sound somewhat like it's being tuned up [12:08-12:38], and into the cadenza, in the finale there's percussive effects from the strings [15:21-15:28], i guess the problem i have with it all is that the movement is built up like separate jigsaw pieces, each looks really nice on its own, it's fitting them all together i find doesn't work properly!, but i'll keep persevering, i understood it more on this listen than ever before.

Here's Kyung Wha Chung playing this Concerto on YouTube.

Brahms - Violin Concerto [Repin/ Chailly-Gewandhaus Orchester]

And yet another disc that gets its maiden voyage here, i have ten discs in my collection of this Concerto, and none of them are a clear 'winner' / favourite, so it's good to have a new disc, and certainly the Repin / Chailly combination is a good one, at one time i would have called this my favourite Concerto, i'm really not sure now, certainly i play Bruch or Mendelssohn more, but the Brahms is full of great things.   

Vadim Repin comes from Russia, he's 43, he recorded this disc in 2008, the front cover portrait is a great one [by Mat Hennek], a dark brown & white shot, really sharp, you can see the individual stubble on his chin!, i like the lettering, also the back cover is well laid out, Repin on a park bench with his violin.

The big long first movement is really impressive, here it stands at nearly 23 minutes long, and i can't help thinking that Brahms is using the Beethoven Concerto as his model, the timings are eerily similar, plus they're both in D major, Brahms Concerto starts fairly stodgily, but the solo oboe comes in [0:19+], a premonition for the second movement?, and the quickly the whole thing takes off with a real vibrancy [0:52+], the intro is fairly long [0:00-2:46], and yes i really can see the homage to Beethoven now, the almost up and down the scales practising, i do feel there's more 'tunes' in the Brahms, the orchestra at times play with such a might [9:08-9:34], but then afterwards can be so sweet [9:34-9:57], certainly Repin really does get inside the virtuosity of it all [11:37-12:37], and also the poetry / charm of the music [12:52-13:24], Repin gives the Heifetz cadenza in the first movement [17:29-20:58], yes it's different than the Joachim, takes some getting used to, but it's good to hear something fresh, after the cadenza Repin weaves some beautiful long lines, creating a gorgeous coda [20:58-22:17], before ending the whole thing with a flourish.

Here's Repin playing the Brahms Concerto on YouTube.

Beethoven - Violin Concerto [Ughi/ Sawallisch-London Symphony Orchestra]

However much this is a great work, and quite possibly the greatest Violin Concerto ever written, and the very heart of the central repertoire, for me it's actually near the top, probably just out of the top ten, it's very good rather than great, also it's a work which i haven't spent oodles of time really getting to know, i've probably heard this work maybe thirty times, that's really low for such a work of this magnitude, but there you have it, that's my relationship with Beethoven's Op61, in saying all of that, i do notice an uptick in my appreciation of this piece, it is getting into my heart, i am understanding it more, this disc helped me today, this is the first time i've ever given this disc a spin, it's hard to judge it against the competition.

Uto Ughi is Italian, he's now 71, this is a disc recorded back in 1981, the photography on the front and back is excellent [by Clive Barda], there's a certain soft glow about the portraits, i just love the RCA logo, really colourful.

Like i said, this is my first listen of this disc, and it was the first movement that got to me the most, here it's almost 24 minutes long, the opening timpani beats sound fast, but the orchestra sound right, it's a long orchestral introduction [0:00-3:13], Ughi has a sweet tone, up front, but not overly, the solo violin music naturally sounds very much like exercises rather than tunes, a vehicle to practise technique, rather than wow people with pure music, and yet there's lots of good things in there, the music does seem to go round and round, and of course at 24 minutes can be a bit daunting to listen to, especially if it doesn't have a superb tune, and one part of the movement is harder to define where you're at than another part, Ughi uses the cadenza by Kreisler [19:15-22:39], very well done, the ending is done with aplomb.

Here's Ughi playing the Concerto on YouTube.

Tchaikovsky - Violin Concerto [Chung/ Previn-London Symphony Orchestra]

I love these Kyung Wha Chung violin re-issues on Decca, i have a whole bunch of them in my disc collection, this is a nice but strange coupling i guess, the Tchaikovsky is a staple of the repertoire, full of Slavic flavour, plus a real virtuoso warhorse, it was so good to listen to this today, appearing in my Blog twice before [11th March 2012 & 15th January 2013].

Kyung Wha Chung is South Korean, she's now 67, it's good to see her back in action again as she was on a career hold with a finger injury, the series for these Decca re-issues is excellent, the booklet photos have a tendency for black backgrounds [this one by Susesch Bayat], which spotlights the portrait of the performer, really well lit from the right, nice highlights, though the lettering for her name is a little overdone.

Ah what a performance, and what a composition too, it got better the longer i listened to it, and so it was the last movement Allegro Vivacissimo that was scintillating, full of virtuoso flair, it starts almost with a sort of cadenza introduction, before the movement gets underway properly [0:52+], or you could consider it a linking passage between the last two movements, Chung rightly plays it fast, there's a stamping dance section, played deliberately slowly by the violin [1:56-2:17], very Russian, but speeds up into a frenzied whirl [2:17-2:43], there's also more thoughtful passages, but the virtuoso elements are never far away, with some very fast playing indeed [4:32-5:00], at the end the orchestra comes into its own, playing in a more glorious fashion, building the frenzy up and up [8:07-8:26], and the violin plays that dementedly fast music [8:27-8:40], a great finale to the work, Chung really throws herself into it, and her preciseness is thrilling, a great end to a great Concerto.

Here's Chung playing the Violin Concerto on YouTube.

Mendelssohn - Violin Concerto [Bell/ Norrington-Camerata Salzburg]

A really good coupling, the Mendelssohn concerto is a perennial evergreen, one of the easiest to like then love, i count 20 different discs in my collection containing this work, that's a lot of music, much more than i realized, but the work in essence justifies it, also i have the other disc that Bell made of this work early in his recording career of the Mendelssohn with Marriner, the Bell / Norrington disc appeared in my Blog four years ago [25th June 2011].

Joshua Bell is American, he's now 47, he recorded this disc back in 2000, the front booklet and back inlay are excellent [photography by Timothy White], showing Bell with his violin, arms folded, a blue top and dark blue background, well lit, and the lettering is skillfully placed, i really like the finished product here.

It was the opening movement that was such a joy to listen to, at 13 minutes it's almost roughly half of the Concerto, the very opening is a marvel of invention, Mendelssohn here goes straight into the melody, and the violin features right away, making a violin / orchestra statement which is strong and powerful [0:00-1:01], it's easy to hear how the music flows just effortlessly, but almost every note was agonised over by Mendelssohn, he caused him no end of grief, but it's impossible to hear that in such a performance as this, the Concerto is in E Minor, a favourite for Violin Concertos, surprisingly Bell uses his own cadenza instead of the one by Mendelssohn [7:10-8:48], and at first sounds different / wrong, but in essence the whole point of a cadenza is to showcase the skill of the Violinist, almost an impromptu invention, and i guess it's good to hear something different for a change, Bell is a great fiddler, and the violin playing is brilliant, some of the difficult passages toward the end are played with aplomb, there's a real excitement here.

Here's Joshua Bell playing the Mendelssohn Concerto on YouTube.

Tchaikovsky - Violin Concerto [Nikkanen/ Simonov-The London Philharmonic]

Played this disc almost five years ago [16th August 2010], and haven't played it since!, so it was great to revisit it today, i play all of my discs in a sort of rotation, half get played every year, a quarter get played every two years, only a small percentage end up having to wait as long as five years, but i don't know why this has languished unplayed for so long, it's a great little disc, and i really enjoyed the performance, and it was nice getting to know the Glazunov a little more also.

Kurt Nikkanen is American, he recorded this disc in 1990, on the now defunct Collins Classics label, and hasn't done a lot else recording wise, i like the booklet cover [by Hanya Chlala], i guess a sort of blue theme, the blue denim jacket is certainly a change from the bow tie and black jacket, the lettering is well laid out in nice duo colours.

The first movement has that unmistakable Tchaikovsky Russian feel, full of really good tunes, real bravura by Nikkanen, he gets the opportunity to show off his virtuoso skills [5:36-6:37], all sorts of twists and turns are created by Tchaikovsky to test a Violinists mettle, and there's fire and brimstone in the orchestral tuttis too [6:37-7:14], for Tchaikovsky it's never just mere nice tunes, he makes it so hard for the Violinist at times, you almost have to be a masochist to go through all the hoops of fire [8:07-9:18], and Tchaikovsky tuttis again a marvel to behold [9:18+], full of passion, i love the way Tchaikovsky introduces the cadenza [9:58+], which at first can seem a little on the reflective side, or possibly it's a bit low key by Nikkanen, after the cadenza, the orchestra comes back in via a superb flute solo [13:09+], over the trills of the outgoing violin cadenza, a lovely moment, the finale builds up to a real power by the violin, by rough stabs [17:29+], and almost screams [17:50+], the very end is whipped up into an exciting frenzy by the violin [18:41+], and the orchestra respond in fashion [18:47+], now that's excitement for you!.

Here's Sayaka Shoji playing the Concerto on YouTube.

Sibelius - Violin Concerto [Zukerman/ Barenboim-London Philharmonic Orchestra] 

As i was listening to this, i thought 'this is my most favourite Violin Concerto', and quite possibly it is, it's truly a work of genius, when i first heard it, all the different elements sounded as if they were glued together and you could easily see the seams, now i feel that the whole thing sounds as if it's carved from one lump, this disc has got some tremendous play in my Blog [17th May 2012 & 10th April 2011].

Pinchas Zukerman is from Israel, though now he lives in North America, he's now 64 years old, he recorded this work in 1975, the front cover photograph is one of the most stunning visual discs i own [photo by Gerd Weissing], a sunburst from behind a cloud, the dappled light on the water, and the gorgeous colours, it actually looks like a Sibelius landscape!, also the box with the lettering, and the logo top left, add a nice splash of colour, the final product is truly stunning.

Sibelius - Violin Concerto [Kremer/ Rozhdestvensky-London Symphony Orchestra] 

Another Sibelius Concerto that finds it's way into my Blog for the first time, plus it's only the second time i've ever played it, the Schnittke work is very unfamiliar to me, and it's still a work in progress for me, i really do need to listen to it a lot more, but of course the Sibelius it famously known, Kremer also recorded this Concerto with Muti [which i also have], i would recommend both, and however much i play this work, it's still such a joy to return to it again, and this was certainly the feelings today.

Gidon Kremer is Latvian, he's now 66, this recording was made back in 1977 when he was 30, the front cover photograph is a lovely silhouette, taken indoors, Kremer studying a score of music, violin in hand, and framed against a draped window, the atmosphere is terrific, and a real piece of stunning photography, also the lettering on the right is well laid out, and using different colours for the two Composers creates a nice differentiation, altogether a superb visual product.

Bruch - Violin Concerto 1 [Udagawa/Mackerras-London Symphony Orchestra] 

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.

Lalo - Symphonie Espagnole [Mutter/ Ozawa-Orchestre National De France] 

One of my most favourite Violin 'Concertos', and an early disc for Mutter [1985 when she 22], is it a Violin Concerto or isn't it?, i guess it really doesn't matter, it certainly veers away from the established formula, with a five movement 'suite', playing dazzling music, Lalo composed the work for the Violinist Sarasate, and it's so good to hear this work again, it was just over a year ago that this disc appeared in my Blog [8th January 2012].

Anne-Sophie Mutter is German, she's now 49, and her half century beckons this year, she recorded this disc in 1985, and the front cover picture is by Christian Steiner, a pleasing enough portrait, but not incredibly clear, the supposed blacks are just dark brown.

The whole of this work is tremendous, every movement is different, a different mood and vibe, but the whole thing is tied together by Spanish idioms, and by a certain virtuosity, it was the third and fifth movements i liked the best, i guess over the years it's the third movement Intermezzo that has become my favourite, and it certainly hit the mark again today, it's a fairly 'angry' movement of music, at the start there's a stamping rhythm played by the strings, interspersed with a more serene echo by the flutes [0:00-0:57], the Violinist takes up this theme, but drifts away from the anger, and becomes more sweetly lyrical [1:32+], and then by turns more towards virtuosity [2:30+], and even though the orchestra try to bring back in the anger, Mutter keeps it lyrical, even though through a high level of virtuosity, i just like the many twists and turns the whole thing gives, the perfect middle movement.

Here's Anne-Sophie Mutter playing the third movement Intermezzo on YouTube.

Tchaikovsky - Violin Concerto [Chung/ Previn-London Symphony Orchestra] 

In the 'bright' key of D Major, and yet sounds as if it's in a minor key, unlike the Mendelssohn [E Minor], and the Bruch 1 [G Minor], which both 'sound' as if they're in a major key, how Tchaikovsky can bring out the sadness in so many compositions, this concerto is a great vehicle for virtuosity, especially the last movement, i've also got Chung's Tchaikovsky Concerto with Dutoit, though i need to listen to both more to tell the difference, but this Concerto is masterly in the hands of Chung, and a delight to listen to today, also in my Blog from early 2011 [11th March 2012].

Kyung-Wha Chung is South Korean, she's now 64, and she made this recording in 1970, Decca have re-released her back catalogue on a wonderful series, each has a full close up of Chung, with a couple of Concertos apiece, they're wonderful to collect, the front booklet photography [by Susesch Bayat] is excellent, a lovely well lit portrait, really stands out on a black background, i like this series a lot, and i have most of them.

The first movement is tremendous, lasting longer than the other two movements put together [nearly 19 minutes], Tchaikovsky slowly weaves the themes at the beginning,  it's the sad counter refrain that i find so sad yet beautiful [3:16-4:15], the chugging build up is nicely done [5:22-6:04], and of course the eventual orchestral explosion afterwards [6:25-7:01], in the style of a military march, i love the way Chung spins the solo work [7:52-8:58], creating a real sense of Russian pathos, and culminating another Tchaikovsky orchestral explosion / forte [9:03-9:55], which merges into the cadenza [9:47+], which Chung takes quite slow and thoughtful, and i like the cadenza ending, which nicely melds into the orchestra as well [12:29+], Chung plays the aching refrain with real tenderness [14:54+], working it into the high treble in such a magical way, the ending is such a delight, another great vehicle for virtuosity, and you can just feel the 'finale' vibe there, tremendous fast bowing [16:24+], and Tchaikovsky gives a nice satisfying culmination to everything that's gone before [18:10-18:47], now that's the way a Violin Concerto should sound!.

Here's Janine Jansen playing the first movement on YouTube.

Mendelssohn - Violin Concerto [Perlman/ Haitink-Concertgebouw Orchestra] 

I enjoyed this so much today, one of the main staples of the Classical repertoire, very popular, maybe to some overplayed and overexposed to, in some ways you can get too familiar with a piece / work, but even though i've played this work hundreds of times, i'm still amazed by the power and 'newness' of this Concerto, it's so evergreen, i don't believe the day will ever come when i will say 'yeah, i know that work now, i've sussed it out, and i can now leave it behind and move on', that's like leaving behind your favourite food because you've had it so much!, i walked to Church today, it was cold, but this certainly warmed my heart while i was walking, this disc makes its debut in my Blog.

Itzhak Perlman is Israeli, though now he's emigrated to the United States, he's now 67, he made this recording in 1984, the front cover photograph is by Christian Steiner, a nice portrait.

This was fantastic, especially the first two movements, as i was listening to the first movement, i thought 'things can't get better than this', but amazingly i found the slow movement just that, it was so superb, 

Here's Itzhak Perlman playing the slow movement on YouTube.