Customer Reviews

Sonatas & Partitas for Solo Violin

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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Five BRILLIANT Stars!! Award-winning violin virtuoso Viktoria Mullova gives one of the definitive versions of J. S. Bach's three solo violin sonatas and partitas. All were composed in 1720 and are presented here on 2 CDs in a manner which interleaves the sonatas and partitas. In the last two decades, Ms Mullova has shown a total fascination with and intensive study of Bach, especially significant since in Russia she was taught to play Bach in a different manner. Her self-study has brought Bach front and center in both her public and private life, bordering on the transcendental and a part of her relaxation at home. She has studied the baroque era with today's masterful groups and individuals, decisively moving from baroque recordings with modern classical violin setups to re-stringing her violins and using the baroque bow and style. It is hard to believe this CD contains her first recording of the 3 Bach sonatas, although she has previously recorded the solo partitas on Bach: Partita Nos.1-3. She uses the Baroque era setup on her 1750 Guadagnini violin with contemporary gut strings which are tuned down to A=415 Hertz and a Barbiero contemporary baroque bow. She favors this violin for baroque work lately, instead of her "Jules Falk" Stradivarius which she has also used. As for the Bach musical scores themselves, legend informs us they were almost accidentally destroyed. The sound of the violin is very vivid and intimate with a drawing-room ambiance that puts Ms Mullova right in the listener's room, with a slight echo that may be attributed to vibrato coming from her tightly controlled left hand dynamics. She has stated this achieves her objectives. This sustained sound is fitting for this performance. Throughout Mullova, bowing relentlessly with fire, velocity, stately elegance, and sensitivity where required, is superb finding new nuances.

The 'best of the best' begin with the amazing Fuga: Allegro movement with Mullova literally accompanying herself through the rounds courtesty of Bach, and the mesmerizing blazing bow work of the Presto movement of Sonata No. 1 in G Minor, BWV 1001. The searing rendering of the Double: Presto movement (the second of the four double movements) of Partita No. 1 In B Minor, BWV 1002 is awe-inspiring, as is the fourth Double: the eighth movement of Partita No. 1 In B Minor, BWV 1002. Her daughter loves the lyrical, double stop-affected Andante movement of Sonata No. 2 in A Minor, BWV 1003: III, humming it at home, so it is dedicated to her. And there is the superb, fleet phrasing of the Giga (fourth) movement leading up to the nearly 14-minute Ciaccona (Chaconne) movement of the Partita No. 2 In D Minor, BWV 1004. Mullova plays this legendary Ciaccona dance movement, adapted since Bach for other instruments, marvelously: investing it with lyricism, sadness, and loss, with just the right touch of virtuosity. Ms Mullova takes full advantage the baroque setup and her nimble bow mastery, doing things that cannot be done with the modern box. This is just an overview of the excellence awaiting the listener in these 6 beautifully complex, highly enjoyable solo violin sonatas and partitas. This is brilliant, always impressive, sometimes stunning and breathtaking music displaying the virtuosity of Mullova and the genius of Bach. My Highest Recommendation. Five RADIANT Stars!! (This review is based on an iTunes Plus download.)

Not too stridently modern, not too murkily baroque. The low-pitched gut strings and Baroque bow give her violin a weaker but still appealing tone. They also allow her to grab chords without a harsh attack. Stylistically more traditional than historical, apart from a more extensive use of staccato. However I didn't hear much resemblance to either of Milstein's recordings, noted by another reviewer. These are very graceful unaffected performances and this cd quickly became my favorite version of these pieces.

I have only been listening to nine different recordings of these works, so I am in fact a complete novice in the field (and no musicologist at all), all the same I will try to give short comments on these nine interpretations that just might help you to choose which set you want to buy.

My personal favourite is no doubt John Holloway's recording (on ECM). When I first heard it I had only been listening to Shlomo Mintz (on DG) and Hilary Hahn (on Sony), so I feared the great Ciaccona/Chaconne of BWV 1004, because both of those artists' interpretations of that movement sounded like musical warfare, full of shrieks and noises. But Hallelujah! Guess what happened? The movement made sense to me for the first time - in Holloway's hands it is actually music! And the rest of the set also sparkles in Holloway's recording. What is so special about Holloway's version is that it has an almost spiritual, metaphysical aspect to it that nobody else achieves. It is a recording full of sublime transcendental beauty. That aspect of course is emphasized by the wonderful church acoustics (another great Manfred Eicher production from ECM). The booklet contains a performer's note and a few facsimile pages of Bach's beautiful handwritten score. If you are looking for just one recording, you don't really have to read further - I recommend that you buy Holloway's set.

If you have not bought Holloway's set yet, I have to say a little more about Mintz and Hahn: The aggressive approach in Mintz' Ciaccona/Chaconne is more or less present throughout Mintz' recording and in my opinion his playing does not quite justify it - it is "agitated" without having a reason to be so. If you want the sort of expressive power which Mintz is trying to put into these works Nathan Milstein (on DG) is a better option (NB: There is an earlier recording from EMI which I am not reviewing here). The problem with Hahn is that you are more impressed than moved; she plays fast - some might even say that she is superficial and skates over the essentials. Hahn also has a tendency to romanticize in the slow movements. Besides it is not a complete recording, she only plays half the works (BWV 1004, 1005 and 1006). However, her version of BWV 1006 is probably my favourite because of its exquisite, exuberant brilliance that fits that partita well.

Sigiswald Kuijken (on DHM) is almost as good as Holloway and he almost reaches Holloway's metaphysical heights, but his Ciaccona/Chaconne is not entirely perfect, it sounds like separate movements put together rather than as a whole. The performance has rougher edges than Holloway's, which can be a good thing. (NB: I am reviewing the 2001 release from DHM not the earlier release on the same label.)

Viktoria Mullova (on Onyx) and Rachel Podger (on Channel) are more down to earth than Holloway, but they both play beautifully. Maybe Podger is a somewhat overrated performer of Bach's music for solo violin. Her recording has been praised by numerous critics and it is so beautiful that I would like to like it more, but isn't it just a little bit boring? I am listening to it right now and again I get this sort of feeling: "Yes, it is beautiful, but why am I listening to it?" That question answers itself when I listen to Holloway or Kuijken. With Kuijken and Holloway playing the music explains itself, it says: "I will just explain how this sounds." If you are looking for clarity and serenity choose Mullova. Make sure you buy the new Onyx set not the old Philips release!

If you want the slow movements played slow and the rest played beautifully by a young talented violinist Julia Fischer (on Pentatone) should be your choice.

Henryk Szeryng's first recording (on Sony) from 1955 is very serious and intense, a haunting (but also demanding) experience. Szeryng later made another recording for DG but I have not heard it (yet). Of course you should expect less than perfect sound on a recording that is more than fifty years old.

Mullova, Kuijken, Podger and Holloway play period instruments.

Szeryng, Mintz, Milstein, Hahn and Fischer play modern instruments.

Mullova is a great musician and violinist. That fact is more than obvius in this incredible recording of this Bach's masterpieces. As she said in the booklet notes, the difference between this version and the first she made is monumental. Mullova change not only the bow and the strings of her violin, but all her conception and cultural and technical background of her interpretation. The result is more than impresive in terms of depth, aesthetic and metaphisic of the sound. This version ranks among the best of all times, perhaps in the first place.
Other versions of the Sonatas & Partitas of high level are: The second recording of Gidon Kremer (with modern violin, but with a deep understanding of Bach's style and architecture); Helene Schmitt (with a baroque instrument and full of passion and pathos); Rachel Podger (baroque violin, clean and precise articulation, emotion control); John Holloway (beautiful and clean sound with many great moments but a little plain in general).

I have long loved my Arthur Groumiaux recording of these great masterpieces and continue to love it. But now Mullova's takes its rightful place as one of the great musical achievements of this new century. Absolutely stunning. Masterful rendering, a perfect blend of the Baroque and modern sound. So the baroque purist feels "betrayed", why exactly I don't know. I listen to the great fugue of the Sonata No 3 and feel speechless and in awe of what the great master created and how Mullova recreates it for me. The sound is gorgeous, the technique flawless, and her depth of structural understanding is a marvel. The result is both beautiful and profound. And this goes for each and every movement of the set. If you already love Bach, buy it now. If you are ready to try Bach, buy it now. Buy it now and see how it will transform you. Thank you Victoria Mullova.

I think this is an absolutely outstanding recording. It is clear from the reviews here that people have their own favourite version of the Sonatas and Partitas. Personally, I have loved Rachel Podger's account for years for its verve, sparkle and intellectual weight Bach: Complete Sonatas and Partitas for Violin Solo and for me this set by Viktoria Mullova is at least as good.

The works themselves are truly wonderful in their technical complexity, harmonic and melodic invention and emotional and intellectual depth. In some hands they can feel rather dry and detached and one of the things I like about Mullova's reading here is her obvious emotional involvement and sense of sharing that involvement with the listener. Her performance is brought vividly to life in a resonant acoustic, beautifully captured in the excellent recorded sound. She has quite an intense approach so that even the bright, joyous Preludio to the E major Partita has quite an emotional edge to it but this never becomes forbidding and I found the works speaking to me in quite a new way as I listened to them.

Mullova uses a baroque bow to play a gut-strung violin made in the year of Bach's death, she employs minimal vibrato and, to me, shows perfect judgement of rubato and phrasing. Her technical brilliance allows her the freedom really to explore the meaning of Bach's music while making the playing of it seem effortless. The fugal movements, for example, are exceptionally good, the closing Allegro assai of the C major Sonata is stunning - taken at a terrific pace but sounding as natural as breathing - and that Everest of the violin, the great Chaconne from the D minor Partita, is utterly spellbinding.

This is a set to last a lifetime and even if you already have recordings you love I would urge you to try this one. I cannot recommend it too highly - it is simply stunning.

This disc goes into my desert island minimum-pack, along with
Argerich's Rach3, the Takac's Bartok quartets (can I take the DVD?),
and the 1941 All-Star game. Bach, it seems to me, is the most
universal of composers, such that even non-violinists such as I can
hear what he's saying. And, when it is sung/said/played with such
genius for the text as is here shown by this astonishing woman,
the least of us can applaud without credentials!

In her notes, Viktoria Mullova mentioned how she was converted from the "Russian" school and started playing the Bach solo pieces with a "Baroque" approach. I was at first delighted to finally find a recording that took a more "authentic" approach, because I wanted to hear the difference in playing and interpretation.

When I listened to it, I thought first the playing was immaculate, but something didn't really sit right. Then bit by bit the Milstein recording started playing in my head, and I realized she was playing exactly with the same Russian techniques as she would with a normal violin. The only differences are gut strings, a German bow, and a semitone down.

One of my first recordings of her was her Tchaikovsky and Sibelius, which I still enjoy immensely. So I think my comments did not do her much justice. Mullova's recording is still much superior than some other recent so-called Baroque recording. In her still evident "Russian" interpretation, there is a great deal of beauty and humility in her playing. I simply think that Mullova should not claim this work as a Baroque influence.

Update: I saw a very recent documentary on Mullova on TV. There were clips of her playing Bach, which I believe is part of the promotion for this CD. The Russian influence still plants deep within her bowing.

Mullova delivers an extraordinary performance of Bach's masterful and demanding Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin. Recorded in a spacious but natural sounding ambient at a church in Bozen, Italy, the recording never fails to convey a sense of immediacy and intimacy. While it is true as some reviewers have noted, Mullova at times tends toward an intense and edgy approach to these pieces, and on the whole she plays rather with an impeccable technique that lends itself to speeds that others might find daunting, she nonetheless manages to pull back and deftly molds this music in a manner that is assured, confident and surprisingly calming at times. Whether or not she is a first choice among HIPP performances or more of a hybrid creature (under the lingering influence of Nathan Milstein or others) whose artistry must be judged on its own merits, Mullova never fails to deliver. For myself, I need look no further for a deeply satisfying and spiritually uplifting interpretation of Bach's greatest works for violin. Her virtuosity stuns.

as it was a present for my partner i can only tell you her reaction as a bach connaisseur: GREAT!! BUY IT!!