Customer Reviews

Bach: Violin Concertos in E major, D minor & A minor; Mutter, Accardo

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

 

 

But certainly too slow for me... The overall tone of the performance is one of sadness and melancholia, rather than joy and happiness. Papa Bach wrote these concertos to dance and light up, not to get an audience depressed, dormant or low keyed, and that's the way I see it.

I've heard other performances (Yehudi Menuhin, Erick Friedman, Christian Ferras, etc.) with a lot more life put into the interpretation. But I would be unfair if I say this is not a good production and an outstanding rendition from the artists. It is an excellent one! The sound is terrific (though my first impression was that the batteries in my portable CD player were weakening). The English Chamber Orchestra behind them kept on the same plane as the performers, and its rendition is majestic. Mutter and Accardo, as soloists, did also a great job. They are rated among the best violinists in the Western World. But this is not the Mutter you've heard with Karajan when she was a teen. Here, as in her second recording of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, she is a more calmed, serene, ethereal fiedler. The good thing is that you hear more music and less pyrotechnical show off. If you don't care about their pace in this delivery or if you just want to close your eyes and relax and maybe succeed with your insomnia, this is a wonderful product to your ears and your soul. But if you are like I am, and you prefer to listen music with your eyes and your ears wide open, there are better choices for you.

These are lovely recordings, not at all too slow for my taste. Mutter has a stunningly beautiful tone and touch, and Accardo is a sensitive partner. The readings are, I grant, romanticized; this is Bach of the heart, not the coolly rational, brainy Bach. But it works for me. When the world has been too much with you, when you're feeling 'buked and 'bused, listen and be comforted.

After searching for the best stereo versions for a while I stumbled on this amazing Mutter disc! (I also felt I needed something to accompany my Menuhin and Enescu mono recording).

I find that Mutter brings great depth and humanity to these readings as well as mystery, beauty and power. She is amazing during this period of her career, more than now.

The sound quality is also quite amazing, capturing details and producing clairty in the huge intense moments. The ECO don't sound chamber like they sound like a real orchestra for once!

Accardo provides powerful accompaniments and joins her in the Double to great success!

-I don't know why this recording doesn't sit with other reviewers, but it's what I was looking for with these concertos, and it's what I got!

EXCELLENT!

Each of us brings our own biases, aesthetic sense, listening history, and expectations to every piece of music we listen to, so I won't insult Mr. Zaleski or question his integrity or judgment in rating this great recording one star, but his appraisal does this recording and prospective purchasers a disservice in my opinion. I also specialize in Baroque music, and this is my favorite recording of the Bach violin concertos to date.

The tempos are perfect to my ear, neither too fast nor too slow. Both Ms. Mutter and Mr. Accardo play with amazing accuracy, ease, joy, and clarity of tone. The English Chamber Orchestra is spot on as usual. There is no romanticizing of the music. By that, I mean the tempo and volume are even in each movement, vibrato is not excessive at all, glissando and other romantic techniques are properly absent, and the Baroque "pulse" is clearly there as Bach intended. The sound quality of the entire album is startlingly clear, bright, and warm at first listening, and at the 25th listening.

I bought this album as an anniversary gift for my wife when it first came out almost 20 years ago. She has kept it in her car ever since. We still enjoy listening to this album from time to time. We've listened to other recordings of our beloved Bach violin concertos as they show up on classical music stations or Rhapsody music service. We have yet to hear as good or better recording of these concertos.

This album is a wonderful introduction to the violin genius of Anne-Sophie Mutter and Salvadore Accardo, and to the genius of Bach at his most lyrical and accessible.

I really this version of Bach's violin concerto in E -- maybe because I was exposed to it early in my exposure to classical music. The rich violin tone and elegant pacing make this interpretation enjoyable. Too often this piece is played too fast and too bright, and the connection between soloist and ensemble in time is lost.

Another reviewer complained about the vibrato, which is a fair criticism, but I liked it. Her violin sings on this CD. The violin has a voice - and what a wonderful voice - and it interplays with Bach's ideas, back and forth, with the orchestra. The pace is perfect for the dynamics of composition -- a beautiful interplay between Mutter's rich violin tone and Bach's miraculous genius.

This CD does not make the list of highest-rated albums for these pieces, but I have always liked it. I also like Stern and Perlman.

Anne Sophie Mutter may be one of the top violinists of our day, but the first time I heard part of the recording...the E major concerto played over my classical radio station...I honestly thought it was one of the local youth orchestras playing.

Later, I checked out out the disc from the library and discovered that the other items on the disc were not much better. Not only are the tempos slow, heavy, and "plodding," but the amount of vibrato is completely excessive for a Baroque violin concerto. I understand that this ponderous sound may be suitable for 19th century music, and that Mutter was perhaps trying to add warmth and profundity to the music. However, in my opinion that attempt was a faliure and the interpretations had little to do with what we know about Bach and his perforamcne practice.

Andrew Manze's recording on period violin is an amazing disc. His performance is filled with energy, spirit, and style: far closer to how I believe the music would have been performed in Bach's day. In addition, he actually follows Bach's bowings, which adds a skip to the music. I highly recommend purchasing his recording instead.

However, should you prefer to stick with a modern orchestra and a famous modern violin soloist; why, Zuckerman's recording with the very same orchestra that Mutter recorded with is light-years ahead. The tone, tempi, and style are much better.

And I'm sure you could find others more worth your money. This is one of my 2 least favorite Bach orchestral recordings, and I specialize in Baroque music.

It is quite odd that Mutter was recording all the Romantic concertos for Karajan on DG but recorded a Bach and Vivaldi disc for Emi.

Her playing on this disc is quite beautiful and free of the mannerisms of her later Baroque recordings. The slow movements in particular are very affecting and by far the most successful on the disc.

The problem is in the direction and accompaniment. If you listen to period orchestra recordings from around the same time, especially Pinnock's for Archiv, you will hear what a switched on ensemble can give to the soloists performance. The English Chamber orchestra sounds very much as though they are on autopilot. It is not that the speeds are slow, it is that there is so little attention or effort given to interpreting the music, pleasant though it is. It is Old School, during the last gasp of this being allowable in the recording studio. Mutter did not nake the same mistakes in her recent recordings of Bach and Vivaldi and nor would DG have let her.

The sound is passable but lacking warmth and sometimes a bit harsh in the double concerto. Still a necessary purchase if you a Mutter Monster.

I highly recommend DG's "The Originals" recording of David Oistrach of Bach's BWV 1041, 1042 with the Wiener Symphony Orchestra and joined by Igor Oistrach on the Double Concerto BWV 1043. The Anne-Sophie Mutter/Salvatore Accardo performance just doesn't make it. Unfortunately, the tempo is sluggish, and the resulting effect is an overall, plodding rendition.

I was not impressed at all with this performance from master and disciple together and I would say this is ironically the worst for both of them and their both playing together. I would look at other performances before buying this one.

Accardo is not really a Bach specialist any more than Manze is a Vivaldi specialist. Accardo's interpretation sounded like a Vivaldi solo as opposed the mechanically precise works of Bach. Mutter is more proficient in symphonic works from the Romantic period onwards but not Baroque in general. Mutter performed as if she was playing the bare bones of a Bach sonata here and there was simply no life to her performance: it was rather tedious instead. It seemed as if both players were unsure who was going to lead or whether to play in the Italian instead of the German style. It's almost as if Accardo is telling Mutter to take lead in the fashion of baby steps and and she just doesn't get it thereby wrecking the whole performance. The recording quality isn't particularly great either.

This performance is definitely one for the vaults and I hate to do this because Accardo is one of my favorite virtuosos. He shines in Italian Baroque groups such as I Musici and he excells in Paganini with Dutoit but not here with Mutter and Bach: it's just not his style and it sounds like it. As for Mutter, I've heard several performances with her and I find her to be talented but somewhat overrated: she wouldn't be my first choice for lead violin in general and she would be one of my last for Baroque.

All it takes is the first three bars of one of these concerti to realize that the performance resembles that of an excellent high school orchestra led by an old man, both of whom are afraid of offending anyone by performing something by the revered Master with spirit or personality. A completely forgettable and unessential recording you'll be grateful to avoid.