Customer Reviews

Bach: Sonatas & Partitas

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

 

 

Please EMI, don't wait till the beloved Itzhak Perlman is no longer with us before you reissue this magnificent performance!

Baroque purists may take issue, lovers of Szeryng or Milstein may shrug dismissively, devotees of Grumiaux may never even place this disc in their player, neophytes may jump on the Hillary Hahn bandwagon (aged neophytes may still be trapped on the Nigel Kennedy bandwagon)...but don't be fooled: this is a magnificent performance! Perlman's giant hands and giant heart and giant sound conspire to render what could be mere exercises and grab-bags of fiddle fiddle-faddle into masterpieces of passionate richness of the most profound depth. Szeryng, Milstein, Grumiaux and Hahn--wonderful violinists to be sure--may have plenty to say on the matter also, but don't dismiss Itzhak.

EMI have a habit of deleting items from their catalogues. Mp3 is the future (the PRESENT!), no doubt. But there are still CD players, collectors, music-lovers, violinists. Delete half of what Rattle and Berlin put out these days before you delete this! And while I've got your ear EMI (as if!), where's Milstein with Leon Barzin doing the Mendelssohn and Bruch concertos?! Another travesty for being out of print!

I'm going to listen to my Perlman LPs, write a letter to my friend, and look at the slides from my Grand Canyon vacation while I wait for the postman to deliver EMI's latest catalog--hopefully with Perlman's Bach soundly back in print!

(3.5 of 5 stars)

Itzak Perlman's recordings of the Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin served as my introduction to these works, yet I never imprinted on them for reasons that became apparent as I began to explore other recordings. Tempos are generally on the moderate to slow side and phrasing is pretty straightforward - nothing wrong with that. His playing is most impressive in some of the faster movements like the finales of the sonatas or the prelude of the third partita where he can unleash his polished virtuosity. Also, the famous Ciaconna is given a big, dramatic reading that is among my favorites. The fugues of the sonatas aren't played with as much finesse as by others (Grumiaux, Tetzlaff or Ehnes, for example), but are enjoyable nonetheless. Other movements are not as successful, like the limp Corrente of the second partita where crisp dance-like rhythms fail to materialize. Similarly in several movements of the first partita Perlman just seems to be going through the motions with no interest in phrasing or accenting the notes to create meaningful groups. Perlman's vibrato sometimes seems timid and half-hearted, particularly in the slow movements, though I acknowledge this is a matter of taste. The crystal clear digital sound is very well balanced with a moderate amount of reverb.

Perhaps my view of Perlman's recording would be more positive if there weren't so many other good options out there, many of them cheaper and more readily available than this one. Arthur Grumiaux's might be my overall favorite. Grumiaux's approach is straightforward, not unlike Perlman's, but with more rhythmic vitality and thoughtful accents. Also from the analogue era are Milstein's two recordings (EMI and DG), justly considered references by many. Milstein's approach is more free than Perlman's or Grumiaux's, and he plays with discipline and beauty if not as much refinement. I wonder if those curious about Perlman might be more satisfied with James Ehnes' digital recording on Analekta. His approach is unabashedly romantic, yet disciplined and gorgeous. Christian Tetzlaff's brisk, polished readings for Virgin satisfy on a more cerebral level, while John Holloway's recording on ECM is the most compelling recording I've heard on a baroque violin.

Overall my impression of Perlman's solo Bach is mixed - some movements are brought off wonderfully but in general I think the set lacks personality and a point of view, like Perlman wasn't sure what he wanted to do. I have found the alternatives listed above to be more consistently satisfying.

The first and second copy of this set I received had serious technical defects, namely, on disc 2 tracks 9 and 10 skipped constantly. I plan to try a third time but it looks like a bad batch of CDs.