Customer Reviews

Nathan Milstein - In Portrait

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

 

 

Let me preface by saying that Nathan Milstein is one of my favorite violinists. I like his sound, like his interpretations, and love his technique. I may be biased in my views toward him, but I feel like this musical portrait is a worthy view for any classical music fan.

The first disc contains some conversations and interviews that Christopher Nupen conducted with Milstein. There's really nothing provocative here. Milstein was widely known as a simple and humble artist, and he does nothing to refute that statement in the conversations. My only real complaint is that there are no English subtitles available; sometimes it is difficult to understand Milstein. Of course, there is also the surreal "chat" between Pinchas Zukerman and Milstein. Zukerman does his best Chris Farley impression, serving up softball questions to a Milstein that almost seems annoyed by the whole process. What little insight and/or anecdotes that is provided is basically rehashed from Milstein's memoirs "From Russia to the West" by Solomon Volkov. If you are a serious Milstein or Violin fan, try to find a copy of the book instead of watching this video.

The second disc contains complete performances of Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata and the Bach Chaconne from Milstein's last public recital. By that time, Milstein was in his 80's and almost undoubtedly the greatest octogenarian violinist virtuoso of all time :). Sadly, the other pieces he played in the recital, most notably the Sarasate Introduction and Tarantelle, are only shown in clips during disc 1. I was hoping this DVD would just show the film for the entire recital, but the Kreutzer and Chaconne are a good compromise. There is also a little section of the Milstein conversations where he opens up about the Chaconne. This truly does provide insight into the artist that perhaps played the Chaconne better than anyone ever has.

In summary, get this DVD for the wonderful recital footage of the Kreutzer and the Chaconne. Watch the first disc for comic relief (why did Pinchas Zukerman feel the need to wear aviator sunglasses when he introduced Nathan Milstein at the Kennedy Center Honors Banquet?).

Thanks to good genes and formidable physical and mental strength, Nathan Milstein was still sounding fantastic into his eighties. All I can say is Thank the gods for Christopher Nupen. Milstein objected to doing the film for many years and finally, and literally JUST in the nick of time, it was done. This 2-DVD set is tremendous. For years, it was only available on a single videotape - and I don't think all of the footage was included. Personally, I am not real big on Nupen's intros to each part. He's made a number of great films, but he just seems like an old windbag. Nearly everything he says in his intros is covered in the program notes AND in the film itself! If there is any real fault to the discs, it would have to be in the menu format. You can't use the 'Play All' feature unless you're willing to fast-forward or sit through 10 minutes of clips from other Nupen films, good though they may be.

The two-part program on the first DVD is fine. Milstein's accent is thick but understandable if you're a classical violinist and already familiar with the man and his art. I would've liked to see a bit more about Milstein's development as an artist - and hear him talk a bit more about the non-violinistic things he did to become such a cultured, educated person in addition to being one of the greatest fiddlers. The portions with Pinchas Zukerman are nice. The portions with Nupen asking questions are a little drab...I wish Zukerman had asked all the questions since Nupen is obviously not well-schooled in the violin. The Kennedy Center Honors clip was a nice inclusion - I'm glad they gave one to Milstein. No one deserved it more. Also included are commentary by the lovely Terese Milstein (who, like her husband, was ageless...but I wish she'd said even more), and violinist Yuri Nagai (a student of Milstein's...check out her flying hair as she plays the Paganini Caprice #13 for him...and check out how strict a teacher he was!!)

I wish the second DVD had footage of the entire recital. Instead, only the Bach Chaconne and Kreutzer Sonata are included...again with Nupen's fatherly wisdom at the beginning. It woulda been better if they'd shown the entire recital - jeez, I can only begin to imagine the thrill I would have gotten if I'd been able to see the whole thing. There was probably a huge standing ovation at the end! Instead, the other pieces played were incorporated into the documentary. Okay, fine, but at least give us the full recital as an option too.

The pieces include Moussorgsky's "Hopak", Sarasate "Intro and Tarantella", Paganini Caprices #5 and 13, Handel Sonata in A major, Bach Chaconne, Allegro Assai from Bach Sonata #3, Liszt-Milstein Consolation #1, Tchaikovsky-Milstein "Mazeppa" aria, Prokofiev-Milstein "Old Grandmother's Tales", Kreutzer Sonata. Georges Pludermacher is the competent piano partner; Pludermacher was already playing with the great old master when he was in his twenties. The fact that Milstein chose him is a testament to Pludermacher's virtuosity as well. Indeed, Milstein plays everything with the same panache and perfection that he did more than 70 years prior. There's no way that Paganini, if he'd lived into old age, would've been able to perform his own Caprices as well as Milstein did at age 82. This is playing that we do not criticize; we rejoice that it existed.

Five stars for the music, but only 3 stars for the DVD set itself (which averages to 4 stars.)

Fantastic! Five stars aren't enough. Candid interviews reveal Mr. Milstein's humbleness and an insight to his great talent. The sound quality and camera angles are very good. Close-ups of Mr. Milstein's playing are educational for all skill levels.

Wow.
Nathan is not just a credit to music but to humanity as well.
Gifted. Dedicated. Humble. Inspirational.
With these DVD's there is a portrait of musical genius as well as beautiful music.
Something to smile about.
Excellent.

Check out the excellent EMI Classic Archive DVD too.

I concur with the other reviewers' comments mostly. However, the entire recital is available on CD and if you want to hear all of it, buy the CD. I say "just in time" in the title because the recital clips are literally Milstein's last public recital in 1986 at age 82. Soon afterward he fell and badly broke his left wrist, abruptly ending the longest career of any great violinist. The miracle is how well he plays at age 82. Most violinists would be happy to play so well at any age. : - )

If you are violinist, you really have to own this program. Never have I seen any other violinist (not even Heifetz) with such an efficient technique. Milstein had literally eliminated all extraneous left hand movements from playing the violin. It is wondrous to watch him playing the Sarasate Introduction and Tarantella. In the fast Tarantella you see his fingers seem to move not too quickly at all, while the notes fly by at a very rapid clip. Astounding.

This is a fabulous documentary about one of the greatest violinists in history. A prodigiously gifted musician and an aristocratic virtuoso without the slightest trace of showing-off, Nathan Milstein was also an absolutely charming human being endowed with a sparkling sense of humour. In my opinion, he is the only violinist able to make one understand the music one is listening to: to understand why a given note has to be followed exactly by that other note, that and not another one. In other words, the strict necessity which governs the musical flow.
I adore Milstein. Unique for the clearness, cleanliness, transparency, elegance, brilliancy of his sound, he is also second to none for the endless variety of emotions he is able to convey to the listener. The way in which he can fathom the depths of Bach Sonatas and Partitas is beyond comparison: his violin knows how to sing, how to dance, how to muse, how to pray. Also stunning is his playing of Bach's counterpoint: each voice living a life of its own, a mysterious, meaningful life from the beginning to the end. Only Schweitzer, Casals, Horszowski and Scherchen share with Milstein the secret of Bach's counterpoint.
All this, and much more, has been masterfully captured by Mr. Nupen in his film: a footage which deserves the everlasting gratitude of all music lovers.