Customer Reviews

Lalo: Symphonie espagnole; Sarasate: Zigeunerweisen: Massenet: Thaïs - Meditation

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

 

 

Anne-Sophie Mutter's recording of Lalo's Symphonie Espagnole remains the most satisfying recording of this piece. Most recordings suffer from being at one of two extremes: too light and feminine, lacking in the dramatic Spanish bravura the piece needs (Chee-Yun and Chang); or overly masculine and serious, missing the playful fun Lalo crafted into the piece (Zuckerman and Perlman). Mutter's performance strikes a perfect balance between these two extremes, succeeding in conveying passionate fervor without losing sight of the humerous romp that it is. The orchestral accompaniment--Seiji Ozawa conducting the French National Orchestra--is a perfect complement to Mutter's flawless playing, maintaining just the right tempos throughout, unlike the other recordings which are either too drawn out (Chee-Yun) or too speedy (Zuckerman). My only reservation concerns the sound which, while digital and bright, lacks the clarity that truly great digital recordings offer. However, the imperfect sound will not detract from the nearly perfect performance!

The CD comes with two shorter works, Sarasate's Gypsy-inspired Zigeunerweisen and Massanet's dramatic Thais Meditation. The Sarasate is given a delightfully virtuosic performance which won't fail to bring a smile to your face. The Massenet is given a particularly powerful reading, accompanied by a Berlin Philharmonic (led by Karajan) in top form, especially the strings. We get all this at budget price, even though this release contains more music (the Massenet) than the original release! An absolute must for fans of Lalo's Symphonie Esoagnole

and for fans of Anne-Sophie Mutter.

This is my first experience with Lalo's Symphonie espagnole, so I do not have a basis for comparison, but being a violin music fan, I have heard a few violin concertos with different artists, from the virtuoso to the romantic, and this great recording fits somewhere in the middle. Anne-Sophie Mutter's tone is delicate but fierce, and precise but somehow fragile; her performance in these three showpieces is outstanding, sometimes it sounds like she is playing on the edge of losing control of the pieces, but she makes no mistake and resolves all the technical challenges in the music with ease. Maybe that is what makes this record worthwhile, it has an intense emotion which goes beyond the technical mastery to evolve into a brilliant musical experience. The only downside is the short duration of the record, but the music on it is excellent, and for a discount price, it is hard to get a better record for your money.

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I have never loved the violin. I have never loved Zigeunerweisen. I have always been ambivalent about Ozawa.

Now I love all three, at least for the duration of this performance.

I have always loved EMI, however, and rate this recording at the top for sound, as well. A violin must be recorded perfectly and played back on only the best equipment for me to tolerate it. Particularly if digital. Normally, I cannot stand a violin CD, much preferring analog. But EMI got it right here.

Zigeunerweisen has been the temptation of so many over-the-top violinists, that I have grown tired of it of late. It is the type of music that invites excess, but seldom rewards it. But ms Mutter does it so well, with such dramatic pacing and dynamics that I am literally on the edge of my seat every time I hear it. She has all the stylistic and dynamic extremes of her cohorts, but somehow manages to pull it off with class and delicacy. Delicacy is not a word I would normally use for Zigeunerweisen. I have to ride the gain to get everything out of the softer passages (and, they ARE soft), and then run it lower to avoid being blasted by the less-quiet passages. This is not car music unless you have really good equipment and the vehicle is stopped.

And she and Ozawa seem made for each other. They are of one mind and body in this performance.

Oh, yeah, the other stuff on the CD is great, too.

Lalo: Symphonie espagnole; Sarasate: Zigeunerweisen: Massenet: Thaïs - Meditation is a recording in which we have the first two parts being led by Seji Ozawa who leads the Orchestre National de France and the the last one being led by the immortal Herbert Von Karajan who leads the Berliner Philharmoniker on this EMI Records Ltd release from 2001. Anne-Sophie Mutter is the soloist and her performance is brilliant. Highly recommended. 5/5.