Ernest Bloch: Violin Concerto; Baal Shem; Suite Hébraïque

Ernest Bloch (Composer), José Serebrier (Conductor), Royal Scottish National Orchestra (Orchestra), Zina Schiff (Performer)

Product Details

• Performer: Zina Schiff
• Orchestra: Royal Scottish National Orchestra
• Conductor: José Serebrier
• Composer: Ernest Bloch
• Audio CD (October 30, 2007)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Naxos
• ASIN: B000VIFLZA
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #133,849 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  #73 in	Music > Classical > Instruments > Strings > Viola

Editorial Reviews

ClassicsToday.com, David Hurwitz, November 2008

This is a wonderful disc. Zina Schiff plays this music with exceptional passion and commitment, which is really what Bloch is all about. Her tempos in the outer movements of the concerto are a touch more relaxed than the competition, particularly the classic Szigeti/Mengelberg, but the performance has greater excitement than the (limited) modern recorded versions, not just because of the fine sound, but because Schiff really digs into the music and phrases with both spontaneity and unusual communicative depth. When the melodies have such strong character even the long first movement, which admittedly has a tendency to sprawl in less committed hands, sounds amazingly cogent. It's clear that Schiff really knows the music and has no inhibitions when it comes to delivering the emotional goods. This is such a lovely work--it's amazing that it gets played so infrequently.

In the shorter pieces Schiff is just as splendid. The final movement ("Rejoicing") of Baal Shem lives up to its title as in few other performances, while the Suite Hebraïque's opening Rapsodie is hypnotically intense. José Serebrier and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra provide ideally balanced, colorful accompaniments, and the engineering, as usual from this source, is terrific. If you're looking for an inexpensive single disc containing all of Bloch's major works for violin and orchestra, let this release be your choice. I wonder if Schiff also plays the viola? I'd love to hear these forces in Bloch's spectacular Viola Suite.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Lucky Find, April 25, 2008

By	Micromegas (Ada, OK) - See all my reviews

Another tragically neglected 20th century violin concerto--and I mean tragically! It has incredible sweep and power, gorgeous melodies intertwined with an inexorable purpose (no mere note spinning here). I had never heard this concerto before, and only knew Bloch from his stunning Concerti Grossi, with which this piece has little in common. The piece opens with a fascinating melody, which Bloch claims was a Native American tune he picked up in New Mexico. If so, he has filtered it through his distinct musical personality, as it sounds unmistakably "him." The entire work inhabits a vaguely "Jewish" sound world, close to that of his famous cello & orchestra piece, Schelomo, which marries rhapsody with symphonic utterance. It's hard to know what to highlight--the beautiful solo line, the sumptuous orchestration, or the sincere depth of expression in the work. Far from being a soloistic display, the violin seems to interject passionately in a fiery drama from forgotten antiquity, or perhaps more pointedly, one of our more recent conflagrations.

The concerto is coupled with two shorter pieces for violin and orchestra, both of which appear in various chamber guises. Yet here they perfectly complement the concerto's sound world and ethos, particularly Baal Shem, with its rhapsodic celebration of Jewish life. The Suite Hebraique is more expansive, almost seemingly like chips from Bloch's symphonic workshop. In short, beautiful pieces that can be lived in for years without discovering every fine, flawless detail.

The Royal Scottish Orchestra has a long history of wonderful recordings, and this disc is no exception. They play with spirit and obviously want to give Bloch's negelected concerto its due. The soloist is marvelous and again, makes the strongest possible case for this concerto (it would make a happy discmate with Walton's concerto or even Sibelius). I bought it on a whim and it has encouraged me to be more spontaneous with my CD purchases!