Ginette Neveu Plays Brahms [Import]

Johannes Brahms (Composer), Josef [Composer] Suk (Composer), Frederic Chopin (Composer), Maurice Ravel (Composer), Fritz Kreisler (Composer), Jascha Heifetz (Composer), Issay Dobroven (Conductor), Philharmonia Orchestra of London (Orchestra), Philharmonia Orchestra (Orchestra), Jean Neveu (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Jean Neveu
• Orchestra: Philharmonia Orchestra of London, Philharmonia Orchestra
• Conductor: Issay Dobroven
• Composer: Johannes Brahms, Josef [Composer] Suk, Frederic Chopin, Maurice Ravel, Fritz Kreisler, et al.
• Audio CD (August 14, 2001)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Dutton Labs UK
• ASIN: B00005B0GZ
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #136,774 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars UNBELIEVABLE VALUE, October 24, 2001

By 

Anthony Clarke (Woodend, Victoria Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ginette Neveu Plays Brahms (Audio CD)

I can't believe how cheap this CD issue is. Grab it while you can.
Ginette Neveu was one of the world's greatest violinists -- not just amongst the most promising, but already amongst the world's greatest -- when she died, in her 20s, when the plane taking her on a tour of South America slammed into the side of a mountain.
In her brief recording career she recorded only two concertos, the Brahms and Sibelius, and of all the transcriptions from the 78s I've heard, this Brahms is the cleanest and the most vital in sound. The 'official' EMI CD of this recording is dull and stodgy in its soundscape by comparison, with all vestiges of life drained from it.
There is also a very good Acanta label recording taken from a live concert -- I would seek that as a supplement.
Dutton have also released the Sibelius concerto on another CD -- I hope they've done as good a transfer job with that, as I've just ordered that disc !
On this disc, the Brahms is presented alonside a few shorter 'encore' style items, in which she's often accompanied by her pianist brother, who also died in the plane crash.
Her premature death was a great loss to the world of music. You can see as well as hear her, in the brilliant Warner Video DVD 'The Art of Violin' -- I've got the Region Four edition of that, and it is being issued soon in the States.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Brahms Recorded, February 21, 2004

By 

Dwayne Brice (Edmonston, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ginette Neveu Plays Brahms (Audio CD)

Greetings!

I recently purchased the Dutton recording of Ginette Neveu playing the Brahms Violin Concerto (w/Suk Four Pieces, Op.17; Chopin Nocturne No. 20; Ravel Tzigane; Falla Danse Espagnole; Dinici Hora Staccato--budget priced to boot!) and I must say I am stunned by her Brahms! It is AMAZING!!!!! Her playing transforms the concerto. For years, many recordings (and I have heard many) have turned the Brahms into a soupy pseudo-violin-symphony, but Neveu plys the heck out of the concerto--controlling it like an honest dialogue between soloist and orchestra.

I was floored by her control of the instrument, her audacious attack on double stops and chords, and her impeccable sonority. This was, sadly to say, a late purchase, but I think it is probably the best version of the piece I have ever heard, with unbelievable clarity, passion and drama. Hearing this disc has also allowed me to get a sense of the tragedy of her early death, because, undoubtedly, she would stand higher than many of the men in her generation. The Poulenc sonata, dedicated in memory to Neveu, now holds an even more special meaning to me! (I also see where Mutter and Hahn have gotten their inspiration from for their Brahms recordings.) What a disc!! Definitely a must-buy!!!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Neveu was to violin what Frau Carreno to piano, April 1, 2004

By 

Hiram Gomez Pardo (Valencia, Venezuela) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ginette Neveu Plays Brahms (Audio CD)

Neveu belonged to another level of performers. His playing was incredibly stunnig precise filled with comittment warmth and fire. This version only has a contender. Herself in a further version recorded with the Munich Orchestra conducted by Hans Schmidt Isserted in 1948 . However this Dobrowen's version is amazing. and very close to that approach. (The difference is the mature in the musical thought of Neveu in that one).
After you listen please, try with Heifetz and believe or not, Heifetz is absoltely cold and in certain way he doesn't reach the elusive height and even he shows a understanding spirit of this work.
And i sure you. I'm not kidding. Both versions are hair raising and overwheelming. Please make yourself a favour and compare by yourself.