Customer Reviews

Prokofiev: Violin Concertos 1 & 2

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

 

 

Leila Josefowicz is a commanding presence on stage (one of the most strikingly elegant and beautiful violinists before the public) and is that class of musician who respects and delivers virtuosic performances of a wide range of music. John Adams has written for her and there are other designated concerti on the way.

In the two Prokofiev concerti Josefowizc plays with skilled abandon, producing a rich volume of tone from the instrument while never clouding the rapid movements with blurring. Her attacks are precise and incise and her definition of phrasing is impeccable. She truly inhabits these two major works.

The surprise and welcome delight on this recording is her inclusion of the Tchaikovsky 'Sérénade mélancolique', a moment of pause in between the stunning rigors of the Prokofiev works for the listener to refresh and prepare. A wise choice. She is well supported by Charles Dutoit and the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. Though the technical aspect of the recording places the violin component a bit too far forward for Josefowicz' well-known collaborative stance with an orchestra, that is a minor quibble in this fine recording. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, September 05

Josefowicz is absolutely luminous here, astounding in her art, rhythmic vitality and musical sensuality, and the Prokofiev Violin Concertos have never shed their secrets so exquisitely, or willingly. There is an obvious avoidance of the more coarse nature inherent in these works, the "slice and dice" pyrotechnical mannerisms so beloved by composer and artist alike. Instead, Ms. Josefowicz approaches the music with an intuitive spontaneity and a poetic reverence that raise compositional insights to exceptional heights. The balance of movements, each melodically rich, and each exploring fascinating emotional contrasts, is superbly judged. Listening to Josefowicz play is to realize how totally immersed she is, how irresistibly lyrical, how ethereal. Hers is a talent devoid of pretense, self-aggrandizement and arrogance. For her, the music, and what it communicates, comes first. Fearless in showing us the heartfelt humanity of Prokofiev, despite the consequences, she humbly reveals her own as well. If these performances are a tad "soft-grained" and romantic, compared to most, they are the better for it, and compellingly attractive.

Her performance of Tchaikovsky's Serenade Melancolique is, as well, touched by grace, its expressive beauty tenderly poised.

Dutoit and the Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal offer lush, warm support throughout, never overpowering the soloist, whose violin is captured most faithfully. Dutoit obviously knows what a gift Ms. Josefowicz truly is and has no qualms at all in openly sharing the bounty she brings.

[Running time: 60:28]

I think that Josefowicz really delivers on this CD. The Prokofiev 1st Concerto is one of my favorite violin concertos (though it took several listenings before I really got into it), and this recording is spectacular.

Josefowicz's playing is quite aggressive (this is true in all her recordings that I've heard), and there are moments on this disc where her sounds is almost grating. However, I think, considering the nature of the pieces (the first concerto in particular), that Josefowicz wide range of tone color is intentional and well thought out, rather than just a kind of wild abandon. I say this because, she is able to quickly switch between gritty, abrasive sounds and sweet, legato, beautiful melodies, depending on the demands of the music. Also, even at her most aggressive, her technique is always perfectly controlled and accurate (being out of control would usually be accompanied by sloppy or uneven technique, from my experience).

The only other recording I have of these works is by Isaac Stern. Josefowicz's versions are clearly my favorite, those Stern has many valuable things to say as well. If you are a fan of Prokofiev and the violin, this CD is a must have. You won't regret it.

I absolutely love this cd. Ms. Josefowicz has produced an incredible and most artistic recording. I was not a particular fan of Prokofiev, but her playing of these two concertos has made me reconsider. Her rendition of the third movement of the second concerto is absolutely magnificent. This lady is truly a great artist, you really should hear this performance. It won't disappoint.

Leila Josefowicz, who was awarded a McArthur foundation"genius grant" a few years ago (which is extremely rare for a performing musician), made tis recording of the two Prokofiev violin concertos in 199 when she was twenty-one. The personal note that she includes in the booklet speaks of "hallucinatory sweeps of texture" in Prokofiev's writing. She's true to her word in the performances -- you'll rarely hear a soloist find as many shuddery, whining, braying, scraping sounds in these mostly lyrical works. Josefowicz also says tat she loves the sarcasm that spices Prokofiev's romantic melodies, yet it takes more bite to be sarcastic; to hear that quality, one must turn to the acid-tinged recording of these two works by Lydia Mordkovitch.

Yet Josefowicz, posing on the cover in a quasi-punk blonde brush hairdo, etches this music in her own way, with needles if not with a blade. She's somewhat detached, however, which leaves some of Prokofiev's romance on the cutting-room floor. The First Concerto was the product of a prodigiously gifted young man spending the summer of 1917 at a resort outside St. Petersburg, unaware of the turmoil to come in October. The idiom is simpler and more melodic than what he had done as a student; a parallel composition was his "Classical" sym., and it is humbling to read that he composed and orchestrated both without benefit of a piano.

The Second concerto is based on materials that are simpler still, but there's more sophistication in the development of the melodies and a sharper sense of orchestration: note the fiendish solo passage in the finale where the violin is accompanied by bass drum and double basses. The year was 1935, the last that Prokofiev spent outside Russia before his return, and although he had passed through a period of brutal machine-age music, he was writing the luscious ballet score to Romeo and Juliet at the same time, as one hears in the finale of the concerto. The second movement has a heart-on-sleeve aria that violinists love to swoon over, but Josefowicz keeps her cool. The stomping, off-kilter peasant dance in the finale finds her making nice sweeps of hallucinatory sounds, but the orchestral accompaniment is too tame.

Which is the real flaw of this otherwise fascinating album, in fact. Dutoit is tame and ordinary, keeping his focus on making beautiful sounds when his soloist aims to do the opposite. Neeme Jarvi makes for a better match with Mordkovitch, and that's the difference between five stars and four.

I heard Melancholy Serenade from this CD on the radio as my "alarm clock," and I was mesmerized. It draws you closer, the music yearns, it was one of the most compelling, soft, things I have ever heard.