Customer Reviews

Heifetz: Double Concertos

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Here is a magnificent album from RCA Victor. <Double Concertos> (09026-63531-2) re-releases three "Living Stereo" recordings of Jascha Heifetz playing with three other stars of the strings in a generous program of a Baroque, a Classical, and a Romantic concerto for two players.

He is joined by Erick Friedman in Bach's "Concerto in D minor for Two Violins" (New Symphony Orchestra of London, Sir Malcolm Sargeant cond.), by William Primrose (viola) in Mozart's "Sinfonia Concertante in E flat, K. 364 (RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra, Izler Solomon, cond.), and by Gregor Piatigorsky in Brahms' "Concerto in A minor for Violin and Cello" (RCA Victor Sym. Orch., Alfred Wallenstein, cond.) A British critic praised the teamwork between the soloists and conductor in the Brahms when that LP first appeared and noted the brisk tempos. While some might prefer the more leisurely approach of other recordings, nothing can detract from this one which seems just right on its own terms.

The recording dates are 1956, 1960, 1961 respectively and the sound was top of the line for that period. Obviously you are going to purchase this for the playing of the four soloists. There are many rival recordings of each of these pieces, but I doubt very much if you will find all three together and so masterfully played. By the same token, the inclusion of a double concerto from each of the three musical eras makes this a valuable teaching aid to boot.

This CD is one to cherish, not just because it is Heifetz. But because it is music. I love the Vivace in the first movement of the Bach double concerto. I have never heard anyone do it at such a brisk pace. Most recordings of it sound dull and boring. This one is breathing life in every note. Heifetz's ability to collaborate with others has always been a problem, but is not very noticeable here. In the Bach Double Concerto, he colaborates with Erick Friedman, a former pupil of his. The sounds of the two violins complement each other so well, you can sometimes forget who is playing what part!! In the Brahms Double concerto for violin and cello, you notice that he and Piatgorsky are completely in sync for the octaves in the beginning of the piece. It is heavenly. The Mozart Sinfonia Concertante was a delight to listen to. It is one of the few classical pieces you will find that use scordatura, which is the changing of the tuning of the strings. Mozart loved the viola, and the music here is exquisitely written for viola. Since the music is basically echoed by the violin an octave higher, you can also say that it is exquisitely written for violin. If you are pondering which Heifetz CD to buy, BUY THIS ONE!!!!!!!!!

The Double Bach is simply heavenly. I listened to the Grumaiux-Krebbers and Oistrach father and son versions. The Heifetz-Friedman is still my top choice - the duo make the music sing out its yearning romanticism. Sound is superb too.

With the early music movement well in place, one can appreciate Heifetz' tempi and smoothness of interpretation, which contrasts with the more 'romantic' approaches to Bach and Baroque music in general at the time of this recording. With most Bach double violin recordings, I am often tempted to hit the track button and move on. With this recording, I feel guilty if I don't listen to the whole movement. I was impressed at the way the violins are well balanced on this re-issue. Usually, Heifetz gets the microphone!

As for the Mozart, Primrose shows great athletic prowess on the viola, and at times gives a more convincing rendition of some of the passage work of the Sinfonia. However, one is always charmed with the sweeping phrases of Heifetz. The style of play between the two is not entirely opposed, but it is noticeable, and can be very educational to listen carefully to the different ways they execute. Primrose always thought that Heifetz could have been even better had he played with a lower bow arm!

Finally, this Brahms is one of the classic renditions, although I think Feuermann was a better match for Heifetz. Nevertheless, Piatigorsky's poetry makes up for any lack of technical wizardry, especially in the more lyrical passages.

Enjoy!

When this program first came out on CD several years ago, I enjoyed the juxtaposition of pieces. (You had to buy three LPs to get these pieces way back when.) In its "Living Stereo" reissue, it sounds less harsh, which is even more pleasing. I just wish BMG would be more generous with program notes. It's fine to use "original notes whenever possible," but how about adding some more recent information? I like to learn about the recording sessions, and a historical perspective of the recordings.

This must be, quite frankly, the best Bach Double Concerto ever put on disc. Sir Malcolm Sargent - largely forgotten these days, one fears - directs a trenchant performance that storms into one's consciousness from the very opening bar. The result (when added to the delightful give-and-take which Heifetz and his former pupil Erick Friedman exhibit) is that even those weary unto death of so hackneyed a work will find themselves falling in love with it afresh.

If the Bach performance is great, the Mozart is perhaps still greater, displaying a depth all too rare in more conventional interpretations. The central slow movement reveals elegiac passion - Heifetz sharing the limelight with the less flamboyant Primrose - which is more readily associated with Mozart's very last pieces. Those of us who for years had reconciled ourselves to considering the SINFONIA CONCERTANTE rather dull can now, thanks to Heifetz and Primrose, appreciate the composition's true excellence.

Only the Brahms disappoints: captured in sound as remorselessly dry as anything which RCA ever inflicted on Toscanini, and with conducting (by Alfred Wallenstein) that skates over Brahms's surface rather than digging in to his substance. The sonic dryness must have been a deliberate engineering decision, since no trace of it mars the Bach (recorded in England), and since even the Mozart (same venue as the Brahms) is easier on the ears. A mostly treasurable collection, even so; its attractiveness is increased by RCA's decision to reprint the original LPs' annotations.

Anything recorded by Jasha Heifetz is superior to virtually all other classical music recordings. His mastery of both the technical and the emotional sides of music is unsurpassed. Even remastered digital recordings such as this are pleasing to the ear and elevating/transporting for the soul. -- Allen

I hate Mozart, and Bach's double is a million miles below Heifetz's level. As for the Brahms, all the technical things were there, but there was one thing missing, INTENSITY!!! Bramns is [poor] if the intensity isn't there, and some of the parts that require exploding just get punched, and the typical aloffness of brahms isn't there. Heifetz is of course amazing, and he is not at fault for these shortcomings. The Conductor and the Orchestra were horreible, and I feel bad that Heifetz had to play with such placid accompianists

Go and buy the recording with Itzahk and Yo-Yo Ma, the two are a perfect match, and Barenboim evokes all the intensity one could handle from a superb Chicago Symphony Orchestra.