Customer Reviews

Sibelius: Violin Concerto, Op. 47 / Goldmark: Violin Concerto, Op. 28

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Joshua Bell continues to mature as a soloist. With every passing year his tone becomes ever more rich and luxurious and his technique now literally sparkles with virtuosity. And given the fact that this recording of the Sibelius and Goldmark Violin Concertos is five years old now makes the listener want to seek out contemporary collaborations between Bell and Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Philharmonic to discover how each has grown.

This pairing of Sibelius with Goldmark is very wise: the two concertos are so widely different that they create a fine continuum of just what the violin is capable of doing. The Sibelius, played here with passion and all the aura of the high north of Scandinavia, finds Joshua Bell in committed form: the phrasing is liquid and longing, the rapid sequences are articulated with utter ease, and the soaring conclusion is among the finest recorded. Salonen and the LA Phil provide that wondrous sonic support for which they are so well known.

The Goldmark concerto is less well known to the concertgoer, so ensconced is it in folk rhythms and flavors that it longs for a line of continuity. Yet Bell tosses off this fiendish work with aplomb and makes it seem a natural for the standard repertoire.

Hearing this recording makes one want to attend a concert performance today, with the same forces, and with the associated growth in expressivity of all concerned. A fine recording. Grady Harp, October 05

I own seven recordings of the Sibelius violin concerto--it's my favorite violin concerto--but this one takes the cake. Joshua Bell's playing is superb, better even than some of his other recordings. His tone is beautiful, his expression flows magnificently. Nothing is underdone, he plays this concerto to the hilt. When I saw Bell in concert I was annoyed with inconsistencies in his playing, but there are none in this concerto. I have to admit, sometimes I don't listen to the Goldmark concerto on this CD, but it's still wonderful. Still, I think this CD is best bought for the Sibelius. If you're looking for a great recording of that monumental concerto, then look no further--buy this one!

Although I've always loved "classical" music, I had never really enjoyed violin (whiny, screechy), preferring piano, woodwinds or brass. Hearing Josh Bell play a live performance of the Goldmark violin concerto in January 1999 instantly converted me to a violin fan, and I will never think of the violin as my fourth or fifth choice again. I've been waiting for this CD to appear since that concert and read in the program that it was in the works. Josh Bell is a lyrical virtuoso, and his interpretation of the Goldmark concerto can make you want to weep the emotion is so intense. The Sibelius is another wonderful, vibrant performance and equals the Goldmark in intensity. This recording is not only a delightful treat to the ears, but is music for the heart and the soul. Most highly rated performance and recording, and essential to any classical collection. Bravo!

First off, off the 2 pieces of work on this cd, Sibelius's violin concerto according to me is of far higher musical quality than Goldmark's. Offcourse this is a completely personal opinion. It is my opinion that, basically anyone one doing a decent job of the sibelius (which consists of half the cd) is going to naturally make the a cd a winner by sheer virtue of musical content and expressiveness. But whether you like the CD beyond this will depend on whether you like Joshua Bells sound on the violin. For some reason, there are lots of people who seem to hate the way he plays. They say it comes out too scratchy. I must say that to a certain extent, I did find it evident in the playing, but this is a purely subjective and personal view. What moves one may not move the other. What one may consider scratchy or otherwise will depend upon musical hearing finesse/personal likes/dislikes which will vary from person to person. I for one, feel that his (so called "Scratchy") playing perfectly suits the sibelius work, giving it that raw edge, unlike a smooth sophisticated finished product, all shiny it provides a rugged, raw, pained and emotional performance which is just the right kind of thing for the sibelius work. This is a great one to have. The recording is also state of the art. As a big plus, dramatic pauses after full blooded orgasmic orchestral bang-bangs and good volume control on the engineering front. Also, look out for Joshua's heavy sighing breathing which can be heard on the mike during the long (beautiful) lyrical passages in the sibelius work. You can hear Joshua inhale on the mike. I dont know whether this is a good thing or a bad thing in concert music recording parlance, but it kind of gave a real life feel to the thing. Good stuff.

This is a wonderful recording. I had the privilage of hearing and seeing Joshua Bell play the Goldmark concerto here with the Atlanta S.O. He was magnificent. This recording of two great concertos is played wonderfully by Joshua....and the orchestra sounds equally wonderful under Maestro Solonen. They work well together(the Red Violin is a gret example). The Sibelius is played with artistry. The first movement is passionate and beautiful. The second is emotional and lyric; the third powerful and driving. His execution of all the technical stuff is flawless. Same with the Goldmark...both are challenging pieces that he makes sound so easy. He is truly one of the best violin players in the world. He and Solonen make a great pair.

Bell's prodigious technique not withstanding, he continually approaches the repetoire as a personal Rorshach, rather than a journey to the composer's intention. In concert, he bends and sways like a fiddler at a Hungarian restaurant. Judging by this Sibelius, he's never met a ritard he didn't like. All of that herky-jerky stopping and starting all but ruins the gorgeous through line of this miraculous concerto. Sibelius may have been a romantic, but his Finnish personality was cooler by many Celsius degrees than the stereotypical sheen given by Mr. Bell. By contrast, Salonen's accompaniment with the L.A. Phil may be even more persuasive than his work with The Philharmonia for Cho-Liang Lin. But Lin's absolute understanding of the work, his intelligence, clarity, beautiful tone...his total approach makes this the recording to own. Lin has unjustifiably never attained the superstar status of Bell, but he is by far the greater musician.

Bell starts the Sibelius quite beautifully. It is full of poetic beauty with delicate nuances. However, as it goes on, the true beauty of the music gets lost in his too much coloration in each phrasing. A bit too much of shading in each phrase he creates, and the scale of the music is not outlined well. It is well expressed, but somewhat it sounds like the music was broken into pretty pieces.

The best of Sibelius will be Cho Liang Lin, Kyung Wha Chung, David Oistrakh and Heifetz. All of them have the inner strength in the thin line of Sibelius' beautiful melody. Bell completely misses the mark.

Also, Salonen is terrible here. He was very good when he did with Lin. But with Bell, there are some dull moments in the 2nd movement. Just there is no magic between the two.

Goldmark, I think Bell is quite good here, but I strongly recommend Sarah Chang's Goldmark.

I know Bell is a great violinist. His recent live performance of Vieuxtemps No.5 proves it, but not this disc.

Due to, I'm sure, a lack of musical sophistication on my part, I've never really had much of an appreciation for Sibelius's violin Concerto. I have always loved many works by Jean (mainly his symphonies) just not his Violin Concerto which, in the past, has failed to move me in any way. I must put a fine point on the aforesaid. I have indeed heard some live performances of the Sibelius violin Concerto that I have been "moved" by; however, the recordings that I've heard have left me rather "cold" until this recording with Bell and Salonen. They deliver it wonderfully! Bell plays the outer fast movements with breathtaking virtuosity and the slow one with great feeling; the melodies really flow in a beautiful arch of sound. To me, Bell's tone is gorgeous Salonen is a most sensitive accompanist always keeping his forces under great control and never allowing them to drown out the soloist as I have heard in other recordings. I feel that one of the main reasons I enjoyed this recording of the Sibelius so much is the recording itself--the balance along with the sound is marvelous.

The Goldmark concerto is played wonderfully too. Bell again delivers its many melodies wonderfully and again the balance of the recording added to my enjoyment.

If you like romantic violin concertos, you can't get any better than this--two great artist (Bell and Salonen at the height of their powers.

I was lucky enough to catch Mr. Bell and the LA Phil performing the Sibelius Violin Concerto live last year. The audience, me included, went crazy. Joshua Bell literally redefined a standard piece. No one can play the Sibelius like he can.

Bell's playing is true virtuosity. Instead of aiming for a lush European sound, he gives it a gutsy interpretation, playing the notes as they were meant to be played. No embellishments, no lushness, just playing the piece with raw emotion.

The LA Phil is also amazing in this CD. There's no one else who can conduct Sibelius like Salonen. Instead of trying to giving the concerto an Eastern European feel, Salonen gives it a very raw, aggressive interpretation that just gives you the shivers.

The Goldmark is excellent too, but the Sibelius really smokes.

While I have enjoyed his recordings, I have never really counted myself among Joshua Bell's acolytes -- until now. Whether his recent cross-genre experiments (with Edgar Meyer et al in Short Trip Home and Esa-Pekka Salonen on the soundtrack for The Red Violin) have given him a fresh perspective on the "standard" repertoire or we are merely witnessing the timely maturity of one of our finest young violinists, Bell's playing reaches new heights on this exceptional Sony disc.

In the Sibelius, the soloist is required again and again to perform fiendishly difficult virtuosic pyrotechnics, frequently in sparse, exposed passages where the symphonic parts give the violinist no place to hide even the tiniest of stumbles. Yet Bell nails the technical aspects consistently, handling the finger-tangling acrobatics with an ease that, were it not for the emotional intensity of his playing, would nearly make it seem as if he were merely warming up with Kayser's elementary studies for the violin.

Goldmark's more lyrical A-minor concerto would seem to be more Joshua Bell's home court. Here, the warm, lush tone that has garnered him positive comparison to Fritz Kreisler would not be out of place, as it would jar the listener in the barren, icy expanses of the Sibelius. And yet, while his performance is masterful in the Goldmark concerto, it is Bell's powerful, eloquent interpretation of the Sibelius that makes this disc a must-buy.

In the Goldmark, he gives a lovely performance of a lovely piece, but nothing really startling or unexpected -- this is "merely" (surely an unfair statement, but nonetheless) Joshua Bell doing what Joshua Bell does best. It is in the fierce intensity and icy brilliance of his performance in the Sibelius concerto that we hear how very much more there is to this young virtuoso than we have previously seen.

More than ably backed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Esa-Pekka Salonen (whose exceptional rapport with Bell and skill as an interpreter of Sibelius enlighten every note on the disc), Bell gives the finest reading of these works by any violinist of his generation. If you're a fan of Joshua Bell, you probably already own this disc -- if you're a fan of the violin in general, or of Sibelius in particular, you should.