Customer Reviews

Dvorák: Violin Concerto / Elgar: Sonata for Violin and Piano ~ Vengerov

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

 

 

This is a stunning recording of both the Dvorak & Elgar conertos. I agree with the previous reviewer - the pianist Ms. Hachamoff's performance is compassiontate, sensitive and vitruosic - she should have received more attention in the cd booklet. If someone knows of her solo recordings, let me know.

But to the artist at hand, Mr. Vengerov, whom I believe to be the finest violinst around - his interpretations are purely magical, his tone simply gorgeous - and this is one of the nicest classical recordings I have heard in sometime. Maxim Vengerov is a master - (anyone interested should also check out his recording of Tchiakovsky's Violin Concerto in D.)His technique, is simply outstanding.

Mr. Masur conducts gracefully - and the melodies on both the Dvorak and the not-as-known Elgar are truly beautiful. I recommend this disc to anyone - don't hesistate. Seriously, these works are gorgeous. And if anyone knows Mr. Vengerov's concert schedule please email me: jaysunset@aol.com

Compared to the gold standard in the Dvorak -- the 1961 stereo recording by violinist Josef Suk and Karel Ancerl leading the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra -- this recording stacks up very well. In fact, the timings on each movement of Vengerov's concert recording in New York are within 20 seconds of those from the Suk recording three and one-half decades earlier, indicating the master recording served as the basis for this work, recorded in Avery Fisher Hall in 1997.

Verngerov, a clone of the late David Oistrakh, displays his ample romantic warmth during this romantic music while he keeps vibrato and extracurricular activities in check. His tone is universally warm and smooth, never grating or searing, and his attachment to the music is always direct. Masur and the New York Philharmonic support him well even though Masure keeps a tight reign on the orchestra, never allowing a solo instrument too much freedom within the scope of the accompaniment.

The dramatic Elgar sonata, recorded in studio with pianist Revital Chachamov in 1995, is an added bonus that make an appropriate coupling in my opinion. I'd rather have heard Vengerov take on a smaller scale and less well known concerto as match, perhaps the Martinu Concerto No. 2, that would have made this CD a more complete entity. The chamber music, which is played well and tastefully done, seems more like an add-on than a thougtfully considered partner.

Since most people will buy this for the Dvorak, the CD provides good value in a modern three dimensional recording that betters the Suk-Ancerl recording. Fans of Dvorak or Vengerov won't go wrong adding this performance to their collections.

Vengerov's recording of Dvorak's Violin Concerto with Kurt Masur conducting the New York Philharmonic is one of the finest recordings of violin concerti that I've heard. Vengerov plays with ample Slavonic passion, producing a silky tone pregnant with warmth. His performance is far more passionate than the equally fine recording of Itzhak Perlman as soloist with Daniel Barenboim conducting the London Philharmonic, which many regard as one of the definitive performances of Dvorak's violin concerto. Moreover, the sound quality is far better than Perlman's recording. And Teldec has done such a great job in recording a live performance that sounds more vibrant, without forsaking the precision of a studio recording.

Kurt Masur has a firm grip on the New York Philharmonic; this has to be among the orchestra's finest recordings made during Masur's tenure as its music director. Both he and the New York Philharmonic give a warm, vibrant reading of Dvorak's score that never overtakes Vengerov's brilliant performance.

The Elgar Violin Sonata is another fine performance, and an unexpected, though equally superb, coupling with the Dvorak Violin Concerto. The chemistry between Vengerov and his accompanist is first rate; it strikes me as being as warm and vibrant a performance as those I've heard with violinist Gidon Kremer and pianist Martha Argerich. Shame on Teldec for not giving a brief biography of the Elgar sonata's pianist.

Without a doubt, this has to rank as one of Teldec's best releases of the past year. And it joins Vengerov's commanding performance of the Brahms violin concerto as one of the finest artistic triumphs in this young violinist's critically acclaimed career.

Vengerov's Dvorak is one of the best Dvorak in recent years. His expression is full of emotion and his tone is so intense yet sensitive. Though this is rather slower than other violinists, it never becomes heavy and sticky like Kyung-Wha Chung's. Chung's Dvorak is full of poetic beauty but her speed (slow) and too much of expression become so dull in the 3rd movement. Vengerov took advantage of live recording. It never loses tension, and also his thin silvery tone gives lightness to emotionally heavy performance. This is a winner. Another great version is Midori's Dvorak. Midori's Dvorak is also a live recording, amazing tension, full of emotion and bull's-eye accuracy in dashing speed. Midori's also gives some lightness to the piece like Vengerov, and she surpasses Oistrakh's Dvorak in technique and wins over Perlman's Dvorak in its lightness. (Perlman's is somewhat rich and heavy like cream.) Anyway, I strongly recommend the new one by Vengerov. This is also a good buy compared to other recordings because this comes with Elgar's sonata thought it is somewhat an unusual coupling. (Dvorak's violin concerto mostly comes only with Romance)

Elgar's sonata has been one of my favorite. Vengerov's Elgar has an amazing texture with super-intimate tone. In a way, this almost reminds me of Kyung-Wha Chung's Franck's Violin Sonata; it is full of poetic beauty. However, Vengerov and pianist Chachamov get indulged in emotional expression so much that it sometimes loses the scale and the structure as a whole. My favorite has been Midori's Elgar. Midori's Elgar has more straightforward expression with eloquence and it is better formed and convincing. But I am enjoying this new version by Vengerov very much.

This is a hugely enjoyable release! Vengerov's magnificent performance in the Dvorak concerto (recorded "live" in New York's Avery Fisher Hall) not only exhibits technical assurance as well as Slavonic passion and wit, the playing is also imbued with a sense of nobility and charm. His violin tone, which this reviewer finds slightly acidic in his award-winning Shostakovich/Prokofiev releases (not, however, inappropriate for those pieces), seems to be more beautiful here than in elsewhere with the half-lit tone in the slow movement exceptionally ravishing. The New York Philharmonic under the direction of Kurt Masur provides firm and tonally-luscious support. Such is quality and eloquence of the performance that this reviewer is compelled to appraise this work afresh after listening to it.

If the Dvorak is magnificent, the Elgar sonata is heavenly! In this studio recording, everything is in ideal balance and the symbiotic partnership of Vengerov and Chachamov strikes sparks off each other throughout the performance. In fact, there is absolutely nothing that can be carped at in this glorious account, which catches to perfection the many moods of this fine work. This fine pair of musicians also have keen regard to the structure of the piece, which actually enhances the impact of their performance. In addition, the more agitated sections possess white-heat intensity and drama whereby the listener is drawn into the musical and emotional vortex conjured up by the performers while the more melancholic passages are baptized by a sort of inner strength and sublimity of utterance. And everything is achieved in a most spontaneous but heart-felt manner. In short, a transcendental and thrilling performance!

This must surely rank as one of the most inspiring violin recordings that have come out in recent years. Don't miss it!

I am a poor music student so I was not able to acquire this CD for a long time. I have heard thousands of recordings and I can say the warmth of this CD is amazing. Its great that technology continues to imporve the quality of sound and contemporary recordings just seem to keep getting better and better.

The Dvorak was played with emotion and intensity and I liked the orchestration and how the solosit blended with the orchestra. Maybe its just me but the third movement seemed to drag a little for my tastes.

The Elgar sonata was what I like the best. Revital Hachamoff was indeed sensitive. What I liked about the accompanyment was that she really let the violin take the lead. Ms. Hachamoff has an incredible sence of dynamics and it was also obvious to me that she has technique to spare. The two played very well togather and it was refreshing for the piano not to drown out the violin for a change.

Maxim Vengerov is always a great listen, you pretty much can't go wrong with listening to him play as he has few if any peers. His playing is full of emotion and his Stradivarious has a unique wonderful sweet tone. If you liked this CD try his Brahms.

If you don't already know Mr Vengerov is one of the best to ever play the violin. I can already tell this is a CD I will enjoy listening to many more times. I would rate this CD a 9.8 out of 10

To Mrs. Edith Eisler Dear Mrs. Eisler My name is Revital hachamoff and I am the pianist who is playing with Maxim Vengerov the Elgar sonata in his new cd. I want to thank you for your kind words on the playing and also for mentioning the fact that there was nothing about me in the booklet. Due to this you couldn't know of course that I'm a woman... and believe me there is no reason to doubt this in my case... I don't know if you noticed but I also spell my name Hachamoff insted of Chachamov as written. I really hope that you will get my message and i would be more then happy to send you my c.v. and a photo to prove my words...(about not being a mail pianist). You might also realize that I wouldn't have spioled the booklet with my picture... Your's sincerely revital

We're very fortunate that the incredibly talented Vengerov, my favorite contemporary violinist and many other people's, recorded the standard violin concertos in his meteoric rise as a youth. When he was 27 at the release of this superb Dvorak Violin Cto. in 2001, his career was six years from ending. Essentially he retired from concertizing in 2008, having cancelled for a year previously due to a recurring shoulder injury. vengerov proclaimed himself healed but wanted to move in other directions, especially teaching in Israel and London. It's a sad loss, and perhaps he will pick up the instrument again (so far, there's no evidence of any great talent n the podium).

As for the Dvorak, the other reviewers have praised it to the skies, and I can only second how full and beautiful Vengerov's tone is, how eloquently he plays every phrase == indeed, the Dvorak concerto is not the strongest work on the fringes of the standard repertoire, yet in is hands the first two movements at least feel like a masterpiece. The finale tempts most soloists to play in a light, skipping fashion. between them, Masur and Vengerov made the decision to add more weight and a slower pace == it almost works, but there's not really enough developmental interest; the old, skipping way is probably the best. Masur isn't the liveliest accompanist imaginable, yet Vengerov, like Heifetz so many decades ago, so totally occupies the limelight than nobody really cares who accompanies him.

In the decade of his prime recording Vengerov wasn't much known for chamber music, although in addition to the Elgar Sonata that fills out this disc thee are charismatic performances of the second and third Brahms sonatas and the Kreutzer (although he was too young to really plumb the depths of the Beethoven). Here he is everything one could ask for, completely sure in Elgar's late romantic idiom as well as being a totally captivating instrumentalist in terms of technique and phrasing.

I was looking to replace my serviceable but unexciting Naxos recording of the Dvorak concerto and am indebted to previous Amazon reviewers for steering me towards this one.

There are a number of extrinsically intriguing things about it: mainly, the fact that we need to view it as all the more precious given that Vengerov peaked so young and early, then essentially retired as a soloist from the concert platform in 2008 and has since given little indication that he will return to performing full programmes - although he has recently been playing encores following his conducting. Secondly, this represents one of his few truly satisfying recordings of the standard - well, standard-ish, as the Dvorak has always been just on the fringes - violin concerto repertoire. Both his Beethoven and Brahms efforts were compromised by listless, slack, wayward conducting from Rostropovich and Barenboim but here Masur provides the required quality of support, despite a rather slower approach to the Finale than is normal. (Is it a kind of perverse response to Vengerov's diabolical facility for playing at speed that prompts this response from his conductors, or it just that he wishes to avoid at all costs seeming "flashy", I wonder?) I could do with just that bit more wild abandon here. Thirdly, we are listening to an artist still in his early twenties and widely acclaimed as simply the best violinist in the world today - and turning to the rendering of the music here I hear nothing to cause me to dispute that.

He is lyrical, tender, poignant and searing by turns. His phrasing is extraordinary, his tone is consistently radiant and he is a master at encompassing fleeting emotions without sounding fragmentary; a Vengerov performance always hangs together coherently.

The Dvorak is a live performance from New York in 1997, although there is nothing about the quality of sound and no intrusions to alert you to this fact beyond the immediacy and sense of occasion which often accrue from live recordings. The gentle, subtle, autumnal Elgar sonata is a studio recording from 1997 and makes a somewhat incongruous bedfellow, the attempt by the author of the insert notes to convince us otherwise notwithstanding. Beyond some tenuous overlapping as musicians and a mutual admiration, it doesn't really signify, and a cynical commentator might suspect mere marketing expediency as the prompting behind this programme - but I don't really mind, as both are superlative performances and I am glad to have them on one disc when Vengerov's artistry is the link. He is wholly at home in Elgar's wistful, melancholic Fach and produces gorgeous, delicate playing, very ably complemented by the excellent Israeli pianist Revital Hachamov (as she spells her name), who shamefully gets no biography or billing - nothing beyond her name in tiny letters.

The orchestra of virtuosi continues to play as though it is a loose coalition of complete strangers. Mazur conducts with his usual lack of inspiration. Vengerov's talent is wasted. If we could have cloned Dvorak, the NY Philharmonic might have a decent musical director again. By the way, none of this mess should be on Vengerov's shoulders - witness his wonderful performance of the Elgar Sonata, which gets both stars.