Violin Concerto / Romance in F

Beethoven (Artist), Shumsky (Artist), Davis (Artist), Po (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 21, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Asv Living Era
• ASIN: B00095MKWW
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #390,095 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

hardly used. No scracthes on cd. Has booklet. May have slight handling wear on cd case

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great soloist let down by soggy orchestra, May 19, 2008

By 

RaleighObserver "Andrew_R_Weiss" (Eastern USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Violin Concerto / Romance in F (Audio CD)

I remember the memorable concert when Oscar Shumsky performed this piece with the Boston Philharmonic in the early 1990's. The performance got, and deserved, rave reviews. Reviewers noted Shumsky's nobility, his ability to be emotional without being sentimental, and one reviewer called it one of the great events of the season. All those qualities are in evidence here; however, instead of Benjamin Zander's enthusiastic and (relatively) idiomatic conducting, and the Boston Philharmonic's lighter, more stringent sound, we have Andrew Davis leading a thick-sounding Philharmonia through a plodding accompaniment. Davis seems to be striving for grandiosity, but rhythms are slack, phrases blend into one another and the entire piece becomes shapeless as a result. What a shame! Shumksy deserved better than this.

Get this CD for a glimpse at a rare violinist who chose to teach and be out of the spotlight for many years while he matured as an artist, performing a concerto clearly dear to his heart. Five stars plus for the soloist; 3 stars at best for the orchestra and conductor.