Tchaikovsky & Mendelssohn: Violin Concertos

Felix Mendelssohn (Composer), Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky (Composer), Charles Münch (Conductor), Fritz Reiner (Conductor), Chamber Orchestra (Performer), Boston Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra), Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Orchestra), Jascha Heifetz (Performer)

Product Details

• Performer: Chamber Orchestra, Jascha Heifetz
• Orchestra: Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra
• Conductor: Charles Münch, Fritz Reiner
• Composer: Felix Mendelssohn, Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky
• Audio CD (May 9, 1995)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000003FIP
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #56,538 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The Tchaikovsky offers dazzling technical challenges and heart-on-sleeve emotional ups and downs. The Mendelssohn is Olympian, cool, beautifully formed--music that is immediately recognizable as the work of the composer who produced the magical Midsummer Night's Dream music. Jascha Heifetz is equally at home with Tchaikovsky's fervor and Mendelssohn's calm. --Joe McLellan

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Two of the greatest concertos for violin played beautifully., July 2, 2000

By	Christopher Urrutia (Riverside, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Not much can be said about this CD that has not already been pointed out. Heifetz if at the peak of a musicians life in that he is in his fifties. At that age his technical skills are still at their extreme peak. He also has all those valuable years of experience behind him. So having said that, these recordings are the perfect example of the perfection of Heifetz. At the end of the 3rd movement of the Tchiakovsky after the orchestra begins coda, Heifetz plays the flying ricochet double stops with the most perfect sound I have yet to hear. Everyone else sounds like they are just making it and smudge the section up. But Heifetz makes it ring so clearly. As for the Mendelssohn, the whole work from beginning to end is of complete musical perfection. Most definately the best recording of the e minor concerto to date. In agreement with the previous reviews, the sound is excellent on these recordings. Also, to maybe clarify if you are confused, the Tchaikovsky on this CD is the same recording as the on that comes coupled with the Brahms in living stereo. Buy this CD.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Greatest Tchaikovsky Ever!, June 7, 2005

By	Donald G. Hite III "clarinetist extraordinaire!" (Houston, Tx USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In my opinion, this is the greatest rendition of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto that I've ever heard. Heifetz plays the first movement very fast, but every note is audible and clean. There are literally moments where my jaw drops each time I listen to this recording. It would be hard to imagine a more technically and musically superb version of this wonderful concerto, although there are many other good versions (Milstein's in particular is great as well).

The Mendelssohn is great, and like all of Heifetz's work, it's pretty much perfect. While it is great, I wouldn't name this as my favorite version. Hilary Hahn's Mendelssohn is equally good and the sound quality is considerably better (because Heifetz's was recorded a long time ago), so Hahn's is my preferred Mendelssohn.

This disc is a must have. Because of the sound quality of the disc, I would not place this Mendelssohn as my top choice because they are other versions that are technically similar with better sound quality. The sound quality on this CD isn't bad (it's actually pretty good), but it's not as good as modern recordings. The Tchaikovsky is so spectacular, however, that even with better sound quality recordings out there, Heifetz still remains my top choice. Enjoy!

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Virtuoso of virtuosos..., July 12, 2005

By	Simon K. Ho "I'm a republican" (LA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This disk features arguably the two greatest concertos ever written for the violin performed by the hands-down greatest violinist of the twentieth century and recorded in the absolute peak of his career. It really doesn't get much better than this for music lovers. If we all lived in a fair world, which we don't, performances on disks would be priced according to the amount of beauty and power it contains, not how recent it was released or supply-demand. Having said that, when it comes to these two recordings, 16 bucks doesn't seem like that great of a reach anymore.

I've listened to many recordings of both concertos, but out of Perlman, Milstein (second best), Stern, Oistrakh, Menuhin, and ect., Heifetz stands out on top in both. People will always say that the first movement of the Tchaikovsky is played too quickly, but I believe this is only so because no other violinist is ABLE to duplicate this kind of speed, hence Heifetz's recording being separated from the rest. I could certainly understand why a slower tempo is desired if the performer was tripping over the difficult passages and turning the movement into a mudslide, but that is certainly not the case with Maestro Heifetz; in fact, the opposite is true.

I believe Heifetz was a man who above all respected the composers. He also understood the art of "withholding". What do I mean? Here is a perfect example. In the first movement of the Mendelssohn, Heifetz has been infamously accused of playing the main theme using harmonics and flying through the movement with zero sentimentality. This demonstrates ignorance and a strong lack of respect on the modern generation. With the rise of 20th Century music (most of which Heifetz detested), appreciation for professionalism declined and indulgence in emotionalism became commonplace. Heifetz understood that there is no payoff, no climax to any piece of music, unless there is patience and sensitivity. After a slightly withheld first movement and a sweet second movement, Heifetz bursts open the doors in the third playing with more liveliness and accuracy than any other violinist can. The concerto climaxes towards the end when Heifetz passionately pounds through the main theme one last time then finishes with a flourish. This epiphany would not have been possible had he sentimentalized the whole concerto, as many violinists do nowadays.

As with most listeners, I often conjure up my own opinions on how certain concertos should be played based on my first hearing. After that first hearing, all others are labeled as inaccurate interpretations. I've found out through years of listening that there are only two musicians for which this does not apply: Heifetz and Rubinstein. Even if my first impression has already been set, it is they who play the concertos the way they were meant to be played. My advice on the Tchaikovsky and Mendelssohn is if you have nevered listen to these, listen to Heifetz first, after doing so, all other versions will pale in comparison. If you have already formed first impressions on how to interpret these concertos, give Heifetz a chance. I've found that just about every other violinist (save Milstein) seem to play with AWFUL intonation after listening to Heifetz.