Sarasate: Virtuoso Violin Works

Pablo de Sarasate (Composer), Alejandro Posada (Conductor), Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León (Orchestra), Akira Eguchi (Performer), Adele Anthony (Performer), Gil Shaham (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Akira Eguchi, Adele Anthony, Gil Shaham
• Orchestra: Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León
• Conductor: Alejandro Posada
• Composer: Pablo de Sarasate
• Audio CD (September 29, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: CANARY CLASSICS
• ASIN: B002JP9HWG
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #26,242 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Infodad.com, October 15, 2009

Spectacular playing is not always at the service of music: sometimes it overwhelms what the composer is trying to communicate. In other cases, though, it is the virtuosity itself that is a big part of what the composer wants to put across, and this is the case with the works of Pablo de Sarasate, one of the great violinists of the 19th and early 20th century. Like many other virtuosi, Sarasate wrote pieces for himself to play, designing them to show off his tremendous technical skills as well as, to a lesser extent, his qualities of expressiveness. Sarasate's works are mostly surface-level showpieces; they remain as effective for violinistic display today as they were when he wrote them. Gil Shaham and his wife, Adele Anthony, play a dozen of these pieces with tremendous flair on the latest CD from Shaham's own label, Canary Classics. Self-indulgent? Yes, but that goes with the territory of being a virtuoso. And the CD really is splendid to hear, from a technical viewpoint. The four works with orchestra - Carmen Fantasy, Zortzico "Adiós Montaňas Mías," Zigeunerweisen and Navarra for Two Violins - are live recordings, and the audience's palpable enthusiasm after each one ends is entirely understandable. The first three of these pieces are played by Shaham, the last by Shaham and Anthony together. The eight other works are studio recordings with piano. Shaham brings a bold, sweeping style to Habanera, Zapateado, Romanza Andaluza, Capricho Vasco and Gavota de Mignon, while Anthony offers somewhat more delicate but equally virtuosic playing in Song of the Nightingale, Airs Écossais and Introduction and Tarantella. The best-known works here - Carmen Fantasy and Zigeunerweisen - are the most effective, but there are charms aplenty in the others, and a certain amount of parlor-room emotionalism as well. It would be a mistake to read too much into these pieces, which are effectively constructed and filled with the colorations of the areas to which they refer (including the Basque region, Scotland, and of course Spain), but which were never intended as deeply meditative. Shaham and Anthony have here produced what is essentially a CD of encores; and very effective encores they are.

The Buffalo News, Mary Kunz Goldman, October 18, 2009

Gil Shaham and his wife, Adele Anthony, played last month at the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra's season-opening gala. He gave a knockout performance of Sarasate's "Carmen" Fantasy, and as an encore, they gave a performance of Sarasate's "Navarra" for Two Violins that was lightning-quick and electrifying. Their personalities, like their Stradivarius violins, seem widely different. Anthony has a quiet humor. And Shaham radiates a crazy, manic humor, which seems to have taken him over just in the past few years. (I love that. It's rare that you get to see a musician evolving before your very eyes.) The contrasts add excitement to this CD, issued on the couple's independent label. Anthony solos for three numbers, Shaham takes seven, and they finally join for that "Navarra." Highlights include Anthony's whistly take on the "Song of the Nightingale"--uncannily birdlike--and Shaham's sizzling trips through hot Spanish dances like the "Habanera" and the "Zapateado." Lots of fun and fire.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic!, May 7, 2010

By 

Anonymous "Arts Diva" (Connecticut, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sarasate: Virtuoso Violin Works (Audio CD)

If you were ever hoping to feel like you were front row at a live performance of Gil Shaham playing Carmen Fantasy, this CD is for you. Truly brilliant rendition.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great, but disappointing recording quality, June 11, 2011

By 

ML Laccotte - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sarasate: Virtuoso Violin Works (Audio CD)

I really liked the music and Gil Shaham is freakin' fantastic, but this CD doesn't sound anywhere as good as his recordings under Deutsche Grammophon, where the CDs truly showcased his greatness. Still gets 4 stars because Gil Shaham is amazing.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absurdly talented, September 11, 2010

By 

J. Laydbak - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sarasate: Virtuoso Violin Works (Audio CD)

I have been hunting for a good interpretation of Carmen in violin, instead of vocals. Until I found this, I had despaired. Not only is this good, it is fantastic! Sarsate's interpretation of the Operatic score is beyond incredible. It is crisp, awkward (in a good way), and precise while being bold, moving, and sexual. Shaham is the perfect musician to interpret this body of work. His skills are literally unbelievable. I cannot recommend this album highly enough.