Customer Reviews

Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto, Op. 64 / Beethoven: Violin Concerto, Op. 61

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I greatly enjoyed the recordings of the Mendelssohn and Beethoven violin concertos by Joshua Bell and the Salzburg Camarata. They are ...

Lyrical and vigorous. Forceful and gentle. Original and respectful of tradition. Technical but tasteful.

And they sing with the joy of music-making in every measure. There is a sense of drama where appropriate and always a keen feel for the emotional depth of the music.

But, I have read some other reviews that are not as favorable and I would like to make a few comments about those. The orchestra is smaller than people are used to hearing. This is probably consistent with performances during the composers' lives but it sounds a little unfamiliar to listeners today. With a smaller orchestra, the balance between brass and strings is always on the brass side. But I found their playing very articulate except for a few places that could have been edited (live performances by all performers have a few of these). Second, there were mixed reviews about Bell's use of his own cadenzas. I thought they are tasteful and interesting. Over the years I have been really disappointed by some of the candenzas played by even well-known violinists in the Beethoven. Bell's cadenzas seemed in the spirit of the works. A reviewer complained that Bell's vibrato was a little too much in places, and I tend to agrees with that; but it's all a subjective. A few other problems that people had can be attributed to Bell's own style of intonation, the fact that some very soft passages just don't come through on the recording (which is Sony's fault) and the fact that, let's face it, we are creatures of habit and anything even a little bit new and different takes a little time to accept.

In performance I've found Bell to be the opposite of his glossy public image--a committed, sensitive, poetic violinist who happens to perform on an exceptionally beautiful Strad. On his records these qualities sometimes come across as preciousness or lack of guts. This is one of his more uninvolving outtings. Bell is recessive and sensitive to a fault, rarely bringing forward any temperament. This is especially true in the Mendelssohn, where he takes great pains to spin out gorgeous tone without really digging into the music.

Given the presence of Roger Norrington, a noted (and not very inspired) period performance expert, I guess Bell's aim is to retreat from the romantic approach to Beethoven and Mendelssohn. But the temperature of his Beethoven is too low--where is the revolutionary? Tempos are traditional, however, and only the small-scale orchestra evokes a period flavor. I guess some listeners don't mind it when bell skims over the surface of a masterpiece as long as he does it prettily. (A fiveaway might be the album cover photo, which makes him look like the dewy adolescent who burst on the scene nearly twenty years ago.)

This is a fine recording of two of the greatest violin concertos in the standard repetoire. Although Bell's playing is usually excellent, it seems a little unsteady at times; not sloppy (not at all!) just not as tight as it could be. This might be okay if he brought something new to the interpretation of these pieces, but alas, he does not. The result is simply a better than average performance that doesn't really shine.

If you're looking for a truly spectacular recording of the Beethoven concerto, pick up Hilary Hahn's absolutely flawless and sparkling rendition. You will not be disappointed.

I still must recommend this Joshua Bell CD however if for no other reason than that he has contributed his own cadenzas to these standard works. I love to see young violinists make this effort as it can breathe new life into a tired piece. It makes a nice change of pace. However, if you're looking for your first versions of these concertos, you might try looking elsewhere.

Joshua Bell has become an image for young classical musicians to emulate. He is not only a superbly gifted violinist and brilliant technician, but he also has heart and is not afraid to imbue his personality on the showpieces of the musical literature. That is why composers of concerti wrote cadenzas - to allow the performer to improvise on what the composer had writen and add his own spirit to the completion of the statement.
This recording does not show Bell in all his glory. The orchestra as conducted by Norrington feels leaden, never airily dancing in the same plane as Bell. The Mendelssohn survives this, but Bell's Beethoven longs for a more simpatico conductor with whom to corroborate. Still in all this is a good recording, another in a growing list of the variety of work that makes Joshua Bell a matinee idol. No empty '3 tenor' hype here, just a gifted romantic sharing his joy.

If you haven't heard of Joshua Bell, take a tour on Amazon of his recordings. He is a young man with a beautiful hand on the violin. His interpretations are as wonderful as YoYo Ma on cello or Ruth Larado on piano. I sneek a CD of his in every few orders from Amazon. He makes the violin speak and becomes one with it as he plays.

The Mendelssohn and Beethoven Concertos are my favorite violin concertos, followed by the Paganini, Wieniawski, and Tchaikovsky. What could be better than a CD with two of the greatest classical pieces of all time?
I'll tell you what: A CD with those two pieces AND Joshua Bell as the violinist.
In the Mendelssohn Concerto, the orchestra plays tendely, and passionately, perfectly interpreting the appassionato of
Allegro molto appassionato. Joshua Bell plays with a pronounced, emotional style that carries the listener floatingly through all three movements. The Finale is played flawlessly, but still with a bright, upbeat joy that brings the concerto to a majestic close.
The Beethoven Concerto is played less sweetly than some recordings, such as Hilary Hahn's, but nonetheless retains the pronounced, arching style that befits the concerto perfectly.
Also, I think it is quite an achievement for Joshua Bell to have created cadenzeas that rival those of famous composers. An advantage to this is that they play directly to his style, sparkling and flowing.
The sound quality on this CD is marvelous, as if live in a concert hall.
A must-buy for any customer!

What can I say? Although Joshua Bell is certainly one of my favorite violinists (Sibelius, anyone?), I was fairly disappointed with this recording. Parts of the first movement of the Beethoven were empty, and one passage makes me question even intonation. The Mendelssohn does show maturity from his first recording (a recording that Mr. Bell claims to have been unhappy with from the beginning), but I think that the Joachim cadenza that is traditionally played has become so integral to the piece that to tamper with it seemed to make the recording disjointed. At the same time, the 3rd movement of the Beethoven is beautifully rendered, as is the finale of the Mendelssohn. Indeed, it is generally these movements that keep this cd in my regular rotation.
I will say that it was refreshing to have a well-respected musician go back to the original tradition of the musician creating (improvising) the cadenza. It has often been said that only two people should ever write a cadenza for a particular performance: the composer or the solo artist. Most performers these days are perfectly content to keep themselves solely to the traditional cadenzas, interpretations, etc., creating a "cookie-cutter" effect in many modern recordings. To this end, I congratulate Mr. Bell on taking a stance otherwise, even if the product was not as musically satisfying as I had hoped it to be.

This CD disappoints me. Having loved his Tchaikovsky and Sibelius interpretations, I would expect much more from this CD. Both the Beethoven and Mendelssohn lacked enough color and textures. The intimacy of Mendelssohn was lost when the tempo of the second theme was around 20 beats faster per minute. The beauty of the second was somewhat smuffled by Bell's constant exaggeration in his vibrato. The third movement was very nicely played though.
The beginning of the Beethoven was dreadful. I think Bell played 7th instead of 8th on those octave runs. The climax was lacking aggressiveness as he matches with the orchestra with the theme. The second movement was very nice but the third, again, lacked enough texture and formation of phrases.
The part that irritated me the most was his new cadenzas. I did not like the Mendelssohn at all. I do not know if Bell wished to be unique but the Mendelsson cadenza lacked the finesse of the original written by the composer. The Beethoven was OK. He was ingenious by taking main themes and developments of the orchestra and engendering them into a solo performance but not as good as the Joachim or Kreisler version.

I agree with Jed Distler's editorial review. The dry recording leaves a rather 'in your face' effect which some may like more than others. A useful alternative to more traditional, grander, readings. Time will tell whether I return to this one more often than to, say, Grumiaux with Davis on Philips. A cautious welcome.

Well, Joshua Bell can do no wrong in my book. I am glad to have this in addition to the wonderful recording with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. I do in fact find ASMF more eloquent, but this one is great in its own way. Incidentally, for those who couldn't find the ASMF CD here, I found it after hearing it on WCRB in Boston, followed up to their site, and it led me to [...], which had it.