Customer Reviews

Aaron Rosand Plays Sarasate

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Mr. Rosand is the only modern violinist who truly understands the Spanish idiom and communicates it with great sincerity and joy. His playing of Sarasate's works for violin is marked by "duende" - that inexplicable possesion of a great artist by the ancient spirit of Spain, its history, and its people. Listen carefully to Mr. Rosand's loving and unhurried phrasing, his unerring sense of the Spanish dance rhythm, and to his signature tone and style. No other living violinist plays this way anymore. And no other violinst has recorded these works as well as Mr. Rosand. This is a "must have" recording for anyone who loves the violin. Sarasate may be long gone, but thank God we still have Mr. Rosand and this recording with us!

Rosand is a superb musician. He's a honest , convinced and meticulously artist.
I could watch his craft twice in Caracas in 1978 and 1980 and I saw in Paganini No. 1 and Sibelius . I must confess his presence is very far to be arrogant; and gifted with charisma.
His Sarasate reading is overwhelming. He knows how to get the perfect balance in every little piece. His Gipsy airs with Fodor version are the best in the market . The golden pieces are the Basque caprice , Navarra , Zapateao and Malagueña.
Acquire this album because despite the miniathurist composer who Sarasate was, the rapture feeling given by Rosand deserves for you the effort.
You'll be amazed if you still haven't had the chance to listen this great artist.

I purchased this CD after doing a little homework on Aaron Rosand. Aaron was born in Hammond, IN and started his career playing and teaching in Chicago. From there he ended up at the prestigious Curtis Institute as a professor of violin. Also, I listened to some of the CD sound clips to get an idea of the performance, granted it was through computer speakers. Sarasate is a difficult composer for violinists to master. But, Rosand plays exquisitely. He is masterful and gets everything right; no missing notes or sloppy articulation and his pace and timing are spot on. I believe this CD is best performance available for Sarasate on the market. It is without a doubt the "Gold Standard" recording. Rosand's 1741 Guarnerius del Gesu violin soars with such unbelievable power and tone, it's mesmerizing. This CD stretches the limits of what can be done on a violin. As for the less than happy reviewers mentioned here; never mind them, they lack true violin artistry.

Some time in the early '60s, I found this recording (33 rpm) in the bargain bin of a 34th Street record shop in Manhattan. Neither the soloist nor the orchestra were familiar to me (and as someone else noted, the piano accompanist was then anonymous). That bargain proved serendipitous; I enjoyed many hours listening to it and went looking for other recordings by Aaron Rosand. (His recording of Ravel's Tzigane, with the same orchestra, is a spellbinding display of virtuosity.) In my mind, he belonged right up there with both Oistrakhs and Nathan Milstein. But my old 33s are worn and I no longer have a functioning turntable. So I was delighted to find this CD on Amazon, and happy to find that the performances are every bit as good as I remembered. (Though I would agree with another reviewer that David and Igor Oistrakh outshine Rosand and himself on the Caprice Basque, there is nothing shabby about the latter performance.)

It has always amazed me that there are numerous superb violinists who never made it into the canonical pantheon of virtuosi, including a blind woman teaching at a liberal arts college who gave a riveting recital in--of all places--the MIT Music Library. I count Aaron Rosand as one of the best among these. Anyone who enjoys the king of instruments (the violin, of course) should find this CD quite rewarding.

When I first listened to this CD, I was amazed. Then, I decided to look at it more critically. I noticed one main flaw - his artificial harmonics are somewhat missing. This is very obvious in Zapateado. If you want a good recording of Zapateado, buy Sarah Chang's Encore album. She never misses a note!!! But, back to Aaron Rosand, the quality is very good. He really understands the Spanish flavor. This makes you wonder if Sarasate would be ashamed of his playing when listening to this!!! The only thing I would be critical of would be his recording of Navarra. Many recordings in which an artist plays both parts have gotten horrendous reviews. For example, when Heifetz recorded the Bach Double Concerto and played both parts, the recording was scorned by most critics. The song itself is nice, but I much prefer the recording by David and Igor Oistrach. The Caprice Basque is OK, but ifd you want a really good recording of it, by the CD called "Menuhin plays Sarasate, Bazzini and Others". He takes a lot of risks by playing at impossible speeds, which is how it's supposed to be performed. Another great recording the Caprice Basque would be by Rugierro Ricci. He takes it at about the same speed as Menuhin. The Carmen Fantasy is just superb. I have never heard anyone do it better as yet. He gets all the notes and flavor Sarasate intended. The Zigunerweisen is played with all the dripping emotion it is supposed to have. The Finale of it is just amazing. He gradually gets faster and faster until the end which is a short chord. It is a great tour de force in violin techniques. The Maleguena and Habenera are performed pretty well. I prefer Midori's Habenera because she nails all the notes. Rugierro Ricci plays the Malaguena superbly. The second part is supposed to be fast, and that's just what he does. The Romanza Andaluza is a great song, and Aaron Rosand gets most of the music out of it, but I feel that Menuhin really gets the Romanza in it. Sarasate's last Spanish Dance is my favorite. It is a marvelous dance piece which Aaron Rosand plays exquisitely.

I don't have much to say other than that this recording by master Rosand is the absolute definition of what "Art" really is. This great violinst is an artist of supreme ability and profound insight musically. I personally(and other people as well) believe that his recording of Carmen Fantasy is most likely one of his absolute greatest life-time achievements. I have purchased his wonderful set of Bach sonatas, and the only thing that is greater in my opinon is the recording of the Carmen Fantasy. There is so much feeling and emotion throughout the recording of that peice, that I am always moved and inspired by the sounds he manages to produce, and the feelings expressed in those sounds. This violinists abilities are on or past the level of the legendary Heifetz and all of the other great artists of the famed Auer lineage of Violin playing.

The only negative thing I have to say about it, is that I truly feel sorry for anyone who has not heard this disc, and the art that this great artist shares with us.

Thanks so Much, Mr. Rosand. Your the best!

I really surprised that some reviewers have given less than 5 stars to this recording. What is expected actually? Is there a better Sarasate recording? Is there man / woman on earth, playing Sarasate better?
Listening Aaron Rosand playing Sarasate is a joy. For me, it is an opportunity to appreciate the quality and the boundries of the instrument that we call violin.

We had this on LP growing up and I was surprised and delighted to see it on CD. I will not repeat others' comments, but will mention that the recordings (made in 1959 and 1964) are close to audiophile-quality. Surprising for this budget label *and* the fact the CD was mastered in '93 or so, when the state-of-the art for digital was only 10 years old and not what it is today. Skip the visit to Starbucks just once this week and get this instead - its pleasures will keep on giving.

Given the unbridled enthusiasm of several reviewers here I suddenly got a little uncertain whether I had heard the same disc as them or whether I would be the right one to review it. So let me at least come clear on one thing: I have never really understood - at all - how Sarasate's music has managed to retain the toehold in the repertoire it has. I can see that the works include some fiery violinist fireworks, but they are so dangerously thin on substance I would be surprised if there weren't literally thousands of violinist-pyrotechnics works out there which would have been more rewarding; I, at least, don't really care one whit about technical difficulties overcome if the musical frame is worthless. The Fantasia on Themes from Carmen is an obvious case in point. Like the countless arrangements and paraphrases of these themes, Sarasate's doesn't' hang together at all and completely misses the lyricism and seductive atmosphere of the original. There is no doubt that Sarasate's approach was an irreverent one - the variations on the Seguidillas are downright grotesque - and there is nothing wrong about that; the point is simply that it doesn't work as a piece of music on its own terms. Zigeunerweisen is perhaps more enjoyable, but comes across as a parody of Liszt's Hungarian rhapsodies whose level of invention it unfortunately never comes close to; it is banal, grossly sentimentalist, tear-dripping nonsense, even if it is enjoyable nonsense for a single listen.

Now, there is no doubt that Aaron Rosand is unfazed by the technical challenges thrown at him - and that itself is impressive. The playing never sounds belabored; instead he really manages to make the music sing and dance, brimful of energy. It is therefore unfortunate that the orchestra is so unable to keep up. More ardent violin buffs might care less than I do, but for me it counts, and by the same token both of these works sound pretty ramshackle. Maybe to compensate, Rosand is very forwardly placed in the sound picture, resulting in a very unrealistic balance with the violin tone sounding almost ridiculously present and close and the orchestra as gurgling their own thing in another room with their own, single and slightly distorting single microphone.

The same problems of recorded balance ruin a lot of the potential enjoyment in the violin and piano pieces - again, perhaps less if you're only point if interest is the violin playing, which is indeed playful, songful, admirably phrased and full-toned; but personally I cannot help being dismayed and disconcerted by the weird, distorted sound. I think Eileen Flissler plays well indeed, but the piano tone and the way she is balanced ruins the effect - after all, these are pieces that crucially depend on spirited, vivacious rhythmic accompaniment and Rosand's and Flissler's individually very good contributions just don't fit together (and it might not even be anything you can blame the performers for). It works infinitely much better in the Navarra, which (ironically) must stand out as the one truly recommendable work/performance-pair on the disc.

That said, I cannot help being moved by Rosand's often marvelously spirited playing and the power and élan he brings to the pieces - all of them, in fact, playing them as if they actually had any musical worth. He might skip a note or two at certain occasions, but that shouldn't deter anyone considering this disc for the marvelous violin playing; the phrasing, power and intensity are just so much more important factors. On the other hand, the playing is often emotionally over the top - way over the top, in fact - nothing close to subtlety here; elegant wistfulness becomes heart-wrenching desperation, happiness becomes intense ecstasy, and so on. That is partially Sarasate's fault, of course, but Rosand doesn't exactly do anything to remedy it.

Oh well, to sum up - pyrotechnics indeed; lots of it, and generally truly impressive fiddle-wizardry. Artistry? Less so, but I guess that is partially because these pieces are so devoid of anything but superficial gloss and glitter. Accompaniment: not up to it in the violin and orchestra works; fine but badly matched in the violin and piano works. Sound quality: a real problem. So my final verdict is that this is a release for the violin buff, and if fiddle-fireworks are not your main objective: avoid.

...I was expecting more. He is technically pretty good. No mistakes anywhere, so its probably good for a student wanting to learn the piece, and needing a good role model or something. I think The recording is just sort of lackluster, and is devoid of the passion that a violinist should exhibit when playing any of sarasate's showpieces. THe pieces sort of serve as skeletons upon which substance should really be added. I sort of regret not holding out for a more passionate violinist (*cough* vengerov *cough*) to release the sarasate spanish dances. Oh well, another cd of mine that will do nothing but collect dust.