Jascha Heifetz - Concerto Recordings, Volume 1
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: William Walton, Sergey Prokofiev, Camille Saint-Saëns, Henryk Wieniawski, Henry Vieuxtemps, Pablo (Martín Melatón) Sarasate (y Navascuéz), Johannes Brahms
Label: Pearl
Magazine Review Date: 11/1995
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 157
Mastering:
Mono
ADD
Catalogue Number: GEMMCDS9167
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra |
Johannes Brahms, Composer
Boston Symphony Orchestra Jascha Heifetz, Violin Johannes Brahms, Composer Serge Koussevitzky, Conductor |
Havanaise |
Camille Saint-Saëns, Composer
Camille Saint-Saëns, Composer Jascha Heifetz, Violin John Barbirolli, Conductor London Symphony Orchestra |
Introduction and Rondo capriccioso |
Camille Saint-Saëns, Composer
Camille Saint-Saëns, Composer Jascha Heifetz, Violin John Barbirolli, Conductor London Philharmonic Orchestra |
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No. 2 |
Sergey Prokofiev, Composer
Boston Symphony Orchestra Jascha Heifetz, Violin Serge Koussevitzky, Conductor Sergey Prokofiev, Composer |
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No. 4 |
Henry Vieuxtemps, Composer
Henry Vieuxtemps, Composer Jascha Heifetz, Violin John Barbirolli, Conductor London Philharmonic Orchestra |
Zigeunerweisen |
Pablo (Martín Melatón) Sarasate (y Navascuéz), Composer
Jascha Heifetz, Violin John Barbirolli, Conductor London Symphony Orchestra Pablo (Martín Melatón) Sarasate (y Navascuéz), Composer |
Composer or Director: Ludwig van Beethoven, Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Jean Sibelius, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Henryk Wieniawski
Label: Pearl
Magazine Review Date: 11/1995
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 153
Mastering:
Mono
ADD
Catalogue Number: GEMMCDS9157
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra |
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer
Arturo Toscanini, Conductor Jascha Heifetz, Violin Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer NBC Symphony Orchestra |
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No. 5, "Turkish" |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer
Jascha Heifetz, Violin John Barbirolli, Conductor London Philharmonic Orchestra Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer |
Méditation |
Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov, Composer
Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov, Composer Arpad Sándor, Piano Jascha Heifetz, Violin |
Scherzo-tarantelle |
Henryk Wieniawski, Composer
Arpad Sándor, Piano Henryk Wieniawski, Composer Jascha Heifetz, Violin |
Author:
So much for the performances, which – to be quite honest – are essential for any self-respecting violin aficionado. However, choosing between CD editions is a far more complicated issue. These admirably smooth Seth Winner transfers are fine if you are listening primarily to the violin (which is invariably well focused); but in terms of the orchestra – and the American recordings in particular – they are seriously flawed. Most of the trouble occurs among the lower frequencies, with a curious 'drop-out' effect that leads either to tiny, spasmodic gaps in the bass-line (try 19'18'' into the first movement of the Brahms Concerto, just after the cadenza) or the shortening of note values (e.g. the timpani 3'23'' into the first movement of the Beethoven). The latter also suffers from 'crumbling' chords (6'50'' into the first movement), which completely misrepresent the NBC Symphony Orchestra's finely graded playing. Try also 0'26'' into the Walton's second movement, where the signal is so severely mangled that the music's rhythmic pattern becomes momentarily confused.
None of these faults surfaces on alternative transfers. Still, I have to stress that they will only strike home if you are listening very carefully, i.e. either in a highly critical acoustic or on headphones. None the less, I feel duty-bound to redirect readers, in the first place, to existing transfers on RCA and Biddulph – the former for the Beethoven (1/91) and Walton (11/94), the latter for the Brahms (10/91) and, again, the Walton (12/93). Winner/Pearl do a more creditable job with the other recordings (sometimes better than EMI) but, considered overall, I can only recommend this set to collectors whose fascination for Heifetz's playing precludes any interest whatsoever in the orchestra.'
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