Customer Reviews

Franck: Sonata for violin in A; Elgar: Sonata for violin in Em

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

 

 

What a great violinist.

Midori takes Elgar's Sonata with passion. It's simply breath-taking. I can see some inteligence here... but how delicate it is. Their interplay creates dimension, and silence comes so strong between the notes. When the central melody of the 2nd Movement comes back in the 3rd movement, it becomes truly a moving moment.

I give a credit to her Franck. It is very introspective. She takes a very long stride, instead of playing phrase by phrase she slowly and gradually opens the music. When it reveals strong emotion once a while then it becomes truly meaningful. She's got a point there. It struck my mind so strong.

I strongly recommend this disc. To any classical music listener.

This is the most convincing and most gorgeous Elgar I 've ever heard. She expresses the inner emotion of the music so well. Intense opening and drama of the first movement, slowly evolving emotion in the second movement and eloquence of the 3rd movement, every detail is well considered and structured, yet they let the music grow and flow. Her tonal beauty (sensitive but warm pearly tone) comes so strong in 2nd and 3rd movements. Midori's Elgar makes all the other recordings of Elgar somewhat pale. Oh, by the way, her accompanist is great.

My personal opinion for Midori's Franck's sonata is that it sounds somewhat lacking in something. I think she tackled this one in the same manner as in Elgar. I still think the best choice for Franck is Kyung Wha Chung & Radu Lupu from Decca. Chung really lets the air come through with her deeply felt emotion and her silvery tone (kinda reminds me of autumn leaves) beautifully works with the music. In Midori's case, her linear readings miss capturing the atmosphere. She sounds like she is thinking about the structure rather than feeling the music.

Well, overall, This CD is worth buying even just to listen to Elgar.

Some reviewers may have commented on how Midori's Franck compares to her own Elgar, but take the whole album wholly: it's a rather consistent and well put together album. The Elgar piece transits to the Franck's Sonata rather fluently. The style of the two pieces congruent.

While I am not going to contest with other reviewers' criticism on Midori's interpretation on Franck, but listen very closely toward the end of the third movement. The melancholy wailing of the violin is /dying/ for attention. I've heard other musicians doing the piece, everyone else played straight and let piano concluded the drama. NOT this version! The violin's wailing suddenly takes a turn toward south, and with your ears, you could see the queen of the tragedy falls on the stage. Piano reverberates. Curtains close. The unsettling silence before the grand ovation. It's all good.

Violinist Midori is very much in her element on this wonderful cd containing the Elgar Sonata in E-minor, coupled with the Franck A-major Sonata. She plays with an abundance of grace, beauty and elegance.
Her lilting tone in the Elgar is absolutely exquisite, with an arresting charm that is totally captivating. Very much the same could be said of the Franck sonata as well. The familiar fourth movement allegretto poco mosso is simply gorgeous violin playing, once again suggesting that a single track on a Midori cd is quite possibly worth the purchase price alone. As always, her technique is flawless and the sound provided her by the Sony engineers is pristine & well-balanced. I would certainly pay a princely sum to her Midori play a recital featuring the pieces recorded here. This Sony Classical compact disc is yet another triumph for one of the great musicians of our generation. Along with so many of her other outstanding releases, this Midori chamber recording will become a treasured addition in your cd library.

I want to concurr in every way with the previous reviewer. The Elgar, which I'd never heard before, was a revelation and I'd say it's almost as good as the three Brahms sonatas. Midori and her accompanist play it very well. The Franck is less successful. Midori, who's intonation is beyond belief -- technically, she is astounding -- is less expressive and emotional than in the Elgar. McDonald is excellent throughout.

To take a step back, Midori, who has taken some hits for being an unmusical child virtuoso, is clearly attempting to establish herself as a more serious musician in some unshowy repertory. She's on her way and we should thank her for selecting the Elgar.

I've not yet heard any other version of the Elgar sonata, but Midori made me love this work, and motivated me to learn it. Although rarely performed, this work sounds so charming, lovely, and compelling, full of romance, vitality, and energy.

The Franck sonata is an undisputed musical masterpiece, and one of the most famous and popular violin sonatas. I thought Midori's reading was rather plain and uninspired, and she uses too few slides. And even in our age of advanced technology, when editors can make unnoticeable note-for-note substitutions, Midori hits the undesirable E string TWICE on the A in measures 34 and 158, second movement.

Anyway, the Elgar is well worth listening to.