Customer Reviews

Sweet Sorrow

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I received this beautiful CD for christmas, I put it in the CD player and listened to the whole CD from start to finish, amazing. I'm a young violinist myself, I love Sarah's work. The feeling and passion in Vitali's Chaconne is unbeatable. Each of the pieces are contrasting; yet, all of them fit in the same groove. Beautiful and in minor keys. Exciting, tantalizing, beautiful. Her technical mastery is amazing, for such a young age. I love this CD, I hope you love it too.

Sarah is my favorite violinist and has been for years. I have most of her CD's. Her technical and emotional mastery is nothing short of miraculous for her age. But be aware that five of these pieces appear on two of her previous releases; "Simply Sarah" and "Debut Recital".

This collection, consisting mostly of reissues, showcases Chang's expressive qualities, with the emphasis being mostly on the slow and dreamy side of her art. One has the feeling that the producers envisioned this disc as background music for a romantic candlelight dinner or some such, and for that purpose it is perfectly sufficient. Chang, of course, is a major violinist and none of the playing here is less than topnotch. As a musical experience for connoisseurs, however, "Sweet Sorrow" has its drawbacks, chief among them being the sameness of mood and tempo. Also, the inclusion of fragments of works such the Vieuxtemps Fifth Concerto and the Tchaikovsky Concerto is musically unsatisfying; the latter is particularly irritating as it leaves the end of the slow movement simply hanging. It may be of some significance that some of the most engaging playing from Chang is heard on the earliest tracks, the Chopin Nocturne and Liszt Consolation, recorded in her child prodigy days; here a genuine love for the music comes through that is somewhat muffled in most of the other selections.

I received this CD for my birthday and loved it. The Chaconne in particular is very expressive and beautiful; it really tells a story. The accompaniment is also amazing, the effect is much more dramatic when you have a full orchestra backing you up. Maybe the selection of music could have been a bit more varied, but I was still extremely upset when I left it in a rental car CD player.

I first heard this CD at my local music store; & was so mesmerized by the beauty of the performance; that I had to listen to the entire CD. Sarah plays with such great feeling & pathos, it brought tears to my eyes.

The WHOLE CD is absolutely excellent for lovers of the violin. ALL the pieces are consistently pleasing to the ear.

I bought this CD after hearing her Chaconne (Vitali) and Nocturne (Chopin).
This is one of those buys where you know you will treat the disc with such great care that even in decades, it'll still look sparkling new, because the music on it is so delicate and pure.

Although I do take some time to "like" other pieces on a CD when I already have 2 favorites, I agree with some of the other reviews that the music selection could be more varied. Nonetheless, Chaconne is definitely worth it--her live performance had a piano accompaniment but this track is the orchestral version which makes it dramatic and powerful.

This is a great album that I listen to over and over again. It really makes me feel... Sarah Chang is one of the greatest violin players and she has done a fabulous job on this album.

I am not really interested in this sort of package, trying so hard to melt your heart, and also the music here are not chosen well...

In this album, she sounds dull to me. Too much of beutifying the music through out and almost all sound the same after all. Also, sometimes her too much of vibrato gets irritating.

I like her Tchaikovsky and Paganini, but not this one. She needs little bit more guts and edge or make it more straightforward. Otherwise this kind of easy concept won't work.

The Vitali is worth the price of the cd. The rest is also very good - although obviously all very similar pieces. HOWEVER, this rendition of the Vitali with full orchestra (which is hard to find) is emotionally riveting. I usually stop the cd at that point because it's hard to listen to anything else immediately after that. Kind of like Jacqueline DuPre's Elgar - you need quiet after it to return yourself to everyday life.