Customer Reviews

Sarah Chang - Paganini: Violin Concerto No. 1 ~ Saint-Saëns: Havanaise / Sawallisch

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Niccolo Paganini was utterly mysterious in that, his glorious ability with the violin was so magnificent as to be literally supernatural. He will always claim the mantle as the greatest and most revered violinist the world has ever known. Now two hundred years later a new violinist, Sarah Chang, has won the hearts and minds of a fascinated classical audience with performances that astonish and bring the magic of the great composers of the past alive once more. In this great recording of Paganini's Violin Concerto No. 1, Sarah Chang has achieved another milestone in her long string of recording masterpieces. Her command of the rhythmics, harmonics, and melody is supreme. Her speed and precision are miraculous. Now 19, the Korean-American Chang made this recording at 13, in 1994. If ever there was a human being who could reach the heights that Paganini once inhabited, it is this young lady. Just as we worship Paganini as an immortal legend of the past, we can now admire and love Miss Chang, an immortal artist, a living legend, living among us today.

This is a great CD, I think one of Sarah Chang's best. The Paganini concerto is precise and clear, without a missed note. (The orchestra also does a wonderful job here.) But the real reasons to buy this CD are the Saint-Saens pieces, Havanaise and Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso. Wow. Amazing. The Havanaise is haunting in the slower sections, just beautiful. Chang displays a maturity in this piece not often heard from 13-year-old musicians. And the Introduction and Rondo is even better, albeit in a different way. The piece is terribly exciting with its violin fireworks, and Chang plays flawlessly. I own several recordings of the Introduction and Rondo and this is by far the very best of them all. Even if you don't like Sarah Chang or classical music in particular, I highly recommend this CD.

Sarah Chang tosses off the tremendous technical difficulties in the Paganini with disconcerting ease. Even the long passage of double-harmonics in the third movement is note-perfect. Her performance is a perfect blend of splendid virtuosic flair and heartwarming lyricism. The only thing that disappoints me in the Paganini is that she made some minor cuts in the Sauret cadenza (well, very few violinists play the complete version), and skipped an entire section in the third movement, like all the other DeLay pupils.

The two Saint-Saens showpieces, superbly played, are very different interpretations from those of Heifetz. Even if you adore Heifetz's interpretations, Chang's are well worth listening to. These are ardent, full-blooded romantic performances, to say nothing of the impeccable technique. The only thing I would desire would be a bit more rubato, such as prolonging the long trills more.

I have been a fan of sarah for a long time now...I live in hawaii and she came here to do a concert and i was just amazed then i became interested in her. This recording has everything, fabulous technique, amazing emotions, and it just melts your heart away. I am a young violinist myself and i have been looking up to Miss Chang, Mr. Perlman and more but this recording is absolutely great.
The paganini concerto is absolutely advanced and i've played the third movement before and i cant play the first but sarah makes u believe that she is nicolo paganini and its just brilliant.
The reason i bought this cd was for the saint-saens and it's just amazing. I especially love the introduction because she plays so well and effortlessly. I have played the introduction before but not as well as her. She amazes me more everyday. I dont know what u guys are talking bout..giving her a 3 star out of 5. If you can do better i would like to hear it...
one word for this cd...FABULOUS

Sarah Chang's violin technique is impeccable. Her CD is definitely worth listening to, especially if you enjoy classical music. The Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso is one of my favorite violin pieces; Sarah Chang's performance of this piece shows her clean technique as well as her passion for music.

Sarah Chang is an extremely talented young violinist...she plays the Paganini's Concerto with precision and beautiful tone. I highly reccomend this CD to anyone, from the average person to a classical expert.

Sarah Chang plays the Violin Concerto No.1 by Paganini in a paced, smooth,"nice" way.... She produces sweet sounds, especially in the high notes and her flautato is very smooth. However, like most modern fiddlers, she omits the very difficult left hand pizzicatos and her cadenza fails to generate any excitement. If I may say so, her playing is too girlish for Paganini. After all, he was labeled the devil's player and his technique was fast-paced and breathtaking.
Her technique is precise, but her playing lacks excitement and verve. This is not the right material for her.
For a great performance of the same concerto, including the hard bits that Chang, Perlman and others omit (they claim they are unplayable...), listen to Salvatore Accardo on DG: his is, in my opinion, the definitive version of the Paganini concertos. Other great Paganini interpreters worthy of a listen are Kremer and Ricci.
As far as the Chang recording is concerned, she is recorded beautifully by the EMI engineers, with lots of ambience and focus.

"It's all wrong! Absolutely wrong! [...] Sarah Chang has no idea how cute and fun this concerto is!"

Each to his or her own interpretation isn't it? Meaning that there is no right or wrong. The performance is excellent in technique as is the musicality. Overall such qualities in her performance make this an excellent recording.

Compared with the recording by her predecessor in 4-string phenom-hood, Midori, Chang's is smoother, more polished, and more musical - especially in the ultra-high range. So as a demonstration of virtuosity, I suppose Chang has to get the nod. But even in the music of Paganini, chops aren't everything. Where is the crowd-pleasing theatricality, the joy in untrammeled mastery? If you can't sound like you're having fun when you're playing a juicy cheeseburger of a concerto like this one, maybe you spent a little too much time practicing your instrument.

Sarah Chang is a non-nonsense kind of a performer. She has tecnique and she has great musical common-sense. No wonder she is so succesful in her career. Perhaps not a musical genius, but a very fine violinist nontheless. Her Paganini is exactly what it needs to be: Direct, clean, fast, with big sound. The recording itself sounds great and Sawallisch is a great accompanist. The Havanaise is a bit to stiff for my taste, however. Nevertheless, still enjoyable.