Customer Reviews

Tchaikovsky, Sibelius: Violin Concertos

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

 

 

The Tchaikovsky dates from the 1950's and the recording shows its age, although Sony has done an admirable remastering job. The violin is placed very forward in relation to the mic, which captures Stern very well. The fluidity and technical precision he exhibits in the quick passage work reminds me of Heifetz in his almost robotic ability to hit every note. To Stern's credit, he is considerably more poetic than Heifetz in this particular work. This might even be a top recommendation if not for the orchestra not being captured very well. The orchestra is too far back and sounds a bit muddy. The sound in the Sibelius is much better (recording from late 1960's), but Stern's performance is not on a par with the Tchaikovsky. It is quite adequate and probably better than average, but it is missing that last bit of dark mystery I associate with this piece. This reading pales in comparison to Lin/Salonen on Sony, Repin/Krivine on Erato, and Kennedy/Rattle on EMI.

These are wonderful performances, full of the flair that made Stern famous. I was glad Sony chose this particular version of the Tchaikovsky with Ormandy and the Philadelphians for his "Life in Music" series, rather than Stern's later version with Berstein and the NYPO. This earlier recording captures Stern with more spontaneity and displays his virtuosity to greater effect. The faster passages of the Tchaikovsky are handled with ease, even at speeds faster than normally heard. The Sibelius was recorded much later and therefore has slightly better sound but the performance again is on a very high level. It may not be THE best version of this concerto out there, but it is very satisfying. Overall I would recommend this recording.

A violinist with whom I exchanged e-mail over the Internet insisted this was one of the great performances of this work. At the time I already had other performances but grudgingly agreed to purchase Stern's. Let me summarize by saying that those other discs are sitting in the used CD store, and I'm playing the heck out of this one. I'm glad I took his advice!

Isaac Stern plays so beautifully in this cd for the Sibelius concerto. It is definitely worth buying.

I was specifically referring to the Tchaikovsky in my comments below, though the Sibelius is good too.

The Tchaikovsky on this album is good, very good, but the Sibelius is somewhat mediocre. I have other recordings of Isaac Stern, and they are quite good, but a master of violin can't always get it perfect, and the Sibelius concerto here makes that obvious. Much better, in my opinion, is the recording with Anne-Sophie Mutter, and even better is the Heifetz (although the quality of the recording isn't that good, it's still a great performance).

This has to be one of my favorite CDs. Peter Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto has to be one of my favorite pieces by the violin, and Jean Siblius does a great job on his too. Isaac Stern does a great job, making only one mistake in the third movement of the Tchaikovsky piece. As always, Eugene Ormandy does a great job conducting his Philadelphia Orchestra. I find this an almost perfect replica of what Peter Tchaikovsky and Jean Sibelius pictured when they composed their pieces. This is a very good price considering that I have seen it in bookstores for [a lot more]....