|
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Smouldering Bach, blistering Paganini and the wrong title, Aug 23 2003
I bought this DVD about 9 months ago from Canada before it was available in the US. I later bought this DVD again because I thought it contained the Complete Brahms and Beethoven concertos played by Milstein but this is labeled incorrectly and does not contain the Beethoven at all nor the complete Brahms Concerto.Nathan Milstein was the first russian to play Bach with intensity and conviction. I use the word smouldering because his intensity is so overwhelming it will grip your ears and your mind and force you to listen closely. His Paganini Caprice 5 is played at a speed so fast I can only describe it as blistering. I love this performance of the Kreutzer sonata and the clip of the Brahms concerto, every note is so clean and articulate. Paganiniana is a set of variations on the infamous 24th caprice compled by Mr Milstein, it basically contains a medley of the best phrases from all the caprices and concertos and is a fitting tribute to Paganini who was the best violin virtuoso who ever lived. The 24th caprice of course inspired many composers to write variations including Brahms, Schumann, Rachmaninoff, Liszt, Ysaye and Rochberg. One thing I appreciate about Milstein is his masterful bowing and the fact that he never uses excessive or too wide of a vibrato. From looking at his editing and bowings of many scores I have seen, Mr Milstein has the most masterful understanding of bowing of any violinist I know of. His playing is so tasteful and his intonation is always immaculate, it is easy to understand when you hear and watch him play why he was labeled the violinist's violinist. I would also have to recommend the VHS about Milstein called Master of Invention. This is an incredible documentary that simply must be reissued and is terribly hard to find. What a shame that some of the best violin materials are so hard to acquire! Mischa Elman is not my favorite violinist but I always find his playing interesting, here is yet another display of why people fell in love with his tone and why he sold so many records. There is so much charm in the music of Kreisler combined with virtuosity. I remember hearing Kreisler's music for the first time and thinking that he must have been extrememly familiar with Paganini's music because I heard traces of Paganini's music come in to combine with Kreisler's charming Vienese sound. These videos are incredibly helpful to me for learning these works as a violin student and I recommend them to music lovers of any genre. DVD contains: 1)Mozart Adagio in E maj K261
2)Mozart Rondo in C maj K373
3)Paganini Caprice 11
4)Paganini Caprice 5
5)Falla Jota
6)Falla Astriana
7)Novacek Perpetual Motion
8)Mozart A maj Concerto 1st movement
9)Brahms Concerto 3rd movement
10)Beethoven Kreutzer Sonata Movement 1
11)Beethoven Kreutzer Sonata Movement 3
12)Bach Chaconne
13)Milstein Paganiniana
14)Bach E maj Partida movement 1 Bonus:
14)Micha Elman - Perghiera in the style of Padre Martini by Kreisler
15)Elman plays Schon Rosmarin by Kreisler 5 star CD all the way, just don't buy it twice like I did.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you?
 
|
|
|
|
DVD ~ Georges Enesco
DVD ~ Yehudi Menuhin
DVD ~ Yehudi Menuhin
