Customer Reviews

Fire & Ice

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This recording of Carmen and Zigeunerweisen is hard to do any better. Simply great fiddle playing! Chang's vibrato and virtuosity suits this style perfectly and not many can play the page full of thirds in Carmen as well as she did it! Least successful was Beethoven and Bach. I rather prefer a more poetic mood (slower tempo) and a slightly less expansive vibrato for this kind of music. Sarah has a sometimes very broad vibrato well suited for fiery stuff but not so well suited for music that demands a certain level of sophistication. Anyway that is just my personal opinion as a violin freak. I guess the broader audience would not mind since the sound is very nice even if the vibrato is a bit out of control at times.

Thanks Sarah for yet another great recording!

I put the CD in CD player, turned up the volume, and went about the house doing domestic things. I had to stop doing the dishes, dry my hands, and run upstairs (and I do not like the stairs, have major issues with the stairs!) just to check the disc information. The playing was that good, jaw-droppingly so. I'm impressed.

Chang first recorded the Carmen fantasy as a child on her debut album accompanied by pianist Sandra Rivers. This was a sweet and faithful version, very charmingly done. However, she is older now and there is a lot of drama to this version with the Berlin Philharmonic. I actually didn't like it at first -- it seemed overly stylized, but then again I don't have the score in front of me (and couldn't actually understand it if I did!) so this may be the more faithful version. I don't know. But upon a second try, I found I liked the tension and energy and passion that Chang added to the music. Now, having listened several times, I can say that it is a lovely and stunning piece. This entire album is, in fact, full of energy and passion, bringing high drama to some very dramatic pieces. Probably the most delicate is Bach's Air, sweetly and commandingly done, demonstrating Chang's maturity and expertise. Tzigane and Dvorak's Romance are exquisite. Chills run up and down your spine, if you like "gypsy" music as I do. The Beethoven is beautifully done, without any of the sloppy stylizing that you may have heard from other violinists -- again, Chang demonstrates her mastery of her instrument and of her repertoire. My favorite is the last piece, Zigeunerweisen, with its changes in tempo and direction that could easily confound. Chang brings it all off brilliantly, and Domingo provides a fluid orchestration that never interferes with his prime purpose in showing off his soloist. Wonderfully done and a certain pleasure for anyone who knows Chang's accomplishments or someone who is looking for an intro. If you want more, don't miss her Sweet Sorrow album too, delicate and sad tunes played with an incredible heart-aching and heart-fulfilling beauty.

After listening to this CD by Sarah Chang I can see the Fire in all of the selections, even the "Meditiation" by Massenet. But where the Ice comes in I cannot tell. Sarah plays with such vibrance and zeal and even if you've never heard the selection before it doesn't matter. Her interpretation of "Zigeunerweisen" is the best I have ever heard. And I think Placido Domingo also does a fabulous job of conducting. All in all, this is one of the most entertaining and enjoyable CD's I own. I urge you to buy it. You won't be sorry.

This album has almost the same repertoire as one by Perlman. Some days I prefer the Perlman version, other days I prefer Sarah's version. Sarah has been a perfect technical virtuoso since she was 13. At age 19, she has matured in her artistic interpretation to rival the best in the world. (I consider Itzak Perlman to be the best, but Sarah is nearly his equal, and she is yet quite young.) I eagerly await each new album she publishes. I wish she would come to town so I could hear her live. I also wish she would record occasionally on analog LP, especially direct disc. I find CDs much less faithful to the sound of live music than LPs, though at least todays CD players are somewhat listenable, instead of making the dreadful sounds they did when the medium was new.

A virtuoso in all respects demonstrates her talents here by marvelous interpretations of non-standard material, bravo!

I am not a professional musician, but I DO know what I like hearing and what relaxes me. I've watched Sarah Chang for a number of years now on PBS specials, and have come to love watching her style, as well as listening to the music that she plays. Even her fastest pace pieces are relaxing to me to hear. Fire and Ice gives you a full range of her talents from the slowest to the fastest and each note she plays is a pleasure! You won't be disappointed in adding this to your collection!

If you love Sarah Chang, you can't go wrong with this one. Ditto if you love Carmen, Meditation from Thais, etc. There's that one track, Ravel's Tzigane, I can't develop a taste for no matter who plays it (except possibly David Oistrakh on You Tube, watching his chubby cheeks hit both sides of his face). And guess what? Placido Domingo didn't sing a note. (LOL)

For those listeners who are new to Sarah,this would perhaps make a good intro cd.Instead of Sarah playing a certain concerto with a same general mood conjured by ONE composer...here are pieces varying in temperament,from different periods and therefore more disgestible.
Sarah really brings new meaning to the word "virtuoso".NEver before has there ever been this sound-the warm lush sound with that captivating vibrato that rings in the ears and seduces the soul.The sound is unwavering even in the most furiously virtuosic moments like in the furious Moderato rounding off the Carmen Fantasy.
Sarah didnt need to go through all those competitions to make herself known.Partly due to this,her playing has always been relaxed...never forced....totally natural..pleasing always to the ear with vibrato that never ever sounds INTENDED and definitely not the tight constricted sound found in most of the world's finest violinists who probably have been somewhat affected musically by all the competitively stressful aspects of competition.
Pay attention u ppl out there who havent heard of Sarah!This is playing thats finally pampering for ur ears!
The meditation by massenet is played with an ardour that does not allow for too much hesitation(unlike Mutter's version which is somewhat more pondering).This is str8forward playing from Sarah.Clean and clearcut...making her intentions clearly known.Some may prefer a more thoughtful version of this piece but Sarah still moves in this piece.Haha...yeah...watch out for some portamento slides on the g string after an expressive outburst somewhere in the beginning.Its one of those Sarah effects that will bound to make ur heart melt,like it did in Goldmark with Sarah previously)
The Tzigane is venemously well done technically.HEre is a spitfire...and Sarah has got more assertive musically over the years..Technically,theres nothing more perfect to ask for.As for spontaneity,well,I think more could be done to make this piece more mad.THough Sarah intended for it to be otherwise,the playing still seems somewhat tecnical to me.Perhaps its those flawless chords that makes Sarah sound too pitch perfect to be mad.Hahahaha...but heres a assertive showing.:p The ending was played with caution to the tempo such that Sarah does not go out of control...different from Mutter's approach who plays with wild abandon and sacrifices some tone n harmonics for that desired mad effect.Sarah's only 20 though...(and if Sarah is actually reading this...YOU GO GIRL!)hahaha... :p
Sarah adopts a slightly different tone for the Air on G string and the beethoven.The sound is more refined without excess details thats typical of the Romantic period of music.HEre is a sound that sounds pure n not Romantic,sort of like a boy soprano as compared to a female one.:p
Well,this cd is definitely worth getting,just like all her other cds.In fact,ive got all her discs.If u want something good for ur heart,this should be it.:)

After fanatical and repeated listening to her previous recording of the Goldmark,which i think was a real special recording for her,this disc might seem a little less inspired.But we must realise the many many factors affecting a recording.Of course,ALL Sarah's recordings are remarkable in their own special way...but lets say the Goldmark was a very very very special recording.Well,any violinist can tell how attached Sarah was with Goldmark simply from hearing how she so effortlessly related to the oriental-sounding piece.Sometimes ,it takes years for a performer to realise what the composer really had in his mind when he composed a particular piece.But in the case of the Goldmark Violin concerto,it was as if Goldmark n Sarah had the same ideals.Goldmark was a violinist and soemthing as lyrical as his concerto speaks much of his love for violin n for heart-felt playing.Goldmark and Sarah became one in the recording...and its so beautiful...ive been listening to it almost daily since it was released two years ago...(i told u its FANATICAL repeated listening!!)
Sarah's a gift from God...thats the meaning of the name Sarah anyway... :p

Sarah Chang is a stunning performer, both live and on this disk. This disk is beautifully performed and arranged, and is well worth adding to one's library, either in hard copy or digital.

Carmen is a favorite theme mine, and the renditions here are sizzling. I am less enamored of the "cold" part of this disk, though they are still beautifully played.