Sarasota Archives

Jascha Heifetz: The Legendary Los Angeles Concerts = BRAHMS; HALVORSEN; BEETHOVEN; DVORAK; SARASOTE – Jascha Heifetz, violin/ Gregor Piatagorsky, cello/ NY Phil. Orch./ Leonard Bernstein/ LA Phil. Orch./ Zubin Mehta/ Bell Telephone Hour Orch./ Donald Vorhees – Rhine Classics

by Audiophile Audition | Jul 9, 2017 | Classical Reissue Reviews

Jascha Heifetz: The Legendary Los Angeles Concerts = BRAHMS: Double Concerto in a minor, OP. 102; HALVORSEN: Passacaglia for Violin and Cello from Suite in g minor by Handel; BEETHOVEN: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 61; DVORAK: Humoresque in G-flat Major, Op. 101, No. 7; SARASATE: Habanera, Op. 21, No. 2 – Jascha Heifetz, violin/ Gregor Piatagorsky, cello/ New York Philharmonic Orchestra/ Leonard Bernstein (Brahms)/ Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra/ Zubin Mehta (Beethoven)/ Bell Telephone Hour Orchestra/ Donald Vorhees – Rhine Classics RH-004 (2 CDs) 38:47; 50:08 [www.rhineclassics.com] *****: Jascha Heifetz performances previously unreleased emerge on a new, important label in excellent sound. Violin virtuoso Jascha Heifetz (1901-1987) still stands as the artistic ideal for the many admirers of his craft: Isaac Stern once referred to the Twentieth Century as “the age of Heifetz.” The soul of sang froid on the concert stage, Heifetz turned his potent emotionalism inward: his burnished tone, elastic bow technique, and unerring finger technique virtually revolutionized the modern concept of the violin art. Cavils often arose to Heifetz’ s application of bow pressure; and his phrasing, so smoothly articulated, could warrant the reaction of “glibness” or “over-refined” to his interpretations. But for the combination of […]

“Apasionado” – Works of SARASOTA, BIZET, RAVEL, WAXMAN = Ning Feng, violin/ Orq. Sinfonia – Channel Classics

by Audiophile Audition | Jul 7, 2016 | Classical CD Reviews

“Apasionado” – SARASATE: Zigeunerweisen, Op. 20; LALO: Symphonie Espagnole in D Major, Op. 21; SARASATE: Romanza Andaluza, Op. 22; RAVEL: Tzigane; BIZET/WAXMAN: Carmen Fantasy – Ning Feng, violin / Orquestra Sinfónica del Principado del Asturias / Rossen Milanov – Channel Classics CCS 37916, 72:07 (4/1/16) ****: Apasionado or purely virtuoso, these works deliver violinistic fireworks by the carload. So far in his recording career, Chinese violinist Ning Feng has tackled only a couple of the warhorses of the violin repertoire, namely the Bruch and Tchaikovsky concertos. With the current recording, he adds a once-popular concerto to his catalog. As the name of Édouard Lalo’s work implies, it combines elements of concerto, symphony, and symphonic suite in a unique manner. With its Spanish flavor, colorful orchestration, and varied emotional palette, it should still be a crowd pleaser but is heard rarely in the concert hall these days—and rarely recorded. In fact, except for remastered recordings by violinists past such as Isaac Stern, this seems to be the only SACD version currently available. It’s a very recommendable version, too, one that captures the wide-ranging landscape of the piece, from the fiery opening through the operatic drama of the Andante to the ebullience […]