Devil's Dance - Gil Shaham
An impressive recital of great virtuosity and variety including rarely heard gems, though Satan could be a stronger presence
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Giuseppe Tartini, Felix Mendelssohn, Antonio Bazzini, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, John Morris, Nicolò Paganini, Edvard Grieg, William (Elden) Bolcom, Eugène (Auguste) Ysaÿe, Camille Saint-Saëns, Pablo (Martín Melatón) Sarasate (y Navascuéz), Johannes Brahms, John (Towner) Williams
Label: DG
Magazine Review Date: /2000
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 69
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: 463 483-2GH
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| (La) Ronde des lutins |
Antonio Bazzini, Composer
Antonio Bazzini, Composer Gil Shaham, Violin Jonathan Feldman, Piano |
| Graceful Ghost |
William (Elden) Bolcom, Composer
Gil Shaham, Violin Jonathan Feldman, Piano William (Elden) Bolcom, Composer |
| (4) Balladen und Romanzen, Movement: Walpurgisnacht (SS) (wds. Alexis) |
Johannes Brahms, Composer
Gil Shaham, Violin Johannes Brahms, Composer Jonathan Feldman, Piano |
| Lyric Pieces, Book 10, Movement: No. 3, Puck (Småtrold) |
Edvard Grieg, Composer
Edvard Grieg, Composer Gil Shaham, Violin Jonathan Feldman, Piano |
| Caprice fantastique |
Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Composer
Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Composer Gil Shaham, Violin Jonathan Feldman, Piano |
| (12) Lieder, Movement: No. 8, Andres Maienlied or Hexenlied (wds. Hölty |
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer Gil Shaham, Violin Jonathan Feldman, Piano |
| Young Frankenstein |
John Morris, Composer
Gil Shaham, Violin John Morris, Composer Jonathan Feldman, Piano |
| (24) Caprices, Movement: No. 13 in B flat |
Nicolò Paganini, Composer
Gil Shaham, Violin Jonathan Feldman, Piano Nicolò Paganini, Composer |
| Danse macabre |
Camille Saint-Saëns, Composer
Camille Saint-Saëns, Composer Gil Shaham, Violin Jonathan Feldman, Piano |
| Concert fantasy on 'Faust' (Gounod) |
Pablo (Martín Melatón) Sarasate (y Navascuéz), Composer
Gil Shaham, Violin Jonathan Feldman, Piano Pablo (Martín Melatón) Sarasate (y Navascuéz), Composer |
| Sonata for Violin and Continuo, 'Devil's Trill' |
Giuseppe Tartini, Composer
Gil Shaham, Violin Giuseppe Tartini, Composer Jonathan Feldman, Piano |
| (The) Witches of Eastwick, Movement: The Devil's Dance |
John (Towner) Williams, Composer
Gil Shaham, Violin John (Towner) Williams, Composer Jonathan Feldman, Piano |
| (6) Sonatas for Solo Violin, Movement: No. 2 in A minor |
Eugène (Auguste) Ysaÿe, Composer
Eugène (Auguste) Ysaÿe, Composer Gil Shaham, Violin Jonathan Feldman, Piano |
Author: Ivan March
According to the prominent red caution notice provided, one approaches the opening track on this CD at one’s peril. But as it happens John Williams’s title-piece, ingenious as it is, is less devilish than the closing excerpt from Ysaye’s Solo Violin Sonata, Op 27 No 2, which, after a whiff of unaccompanied Bach, offers the Dies irae as a demonic cantus firmus (always clear) for Gil Shaham’s dazzlingly fiendish decorations. Tartini’s Devil’s Trill Sonata (supposedly inspired in a dream by the Prince of Darkness himself), heard in Kreisler’s arrangement, opens with a disarmingly mellow warmth. Shaham makes light of the once much-feared trills and here totally civilises the satanic influence. If you need to be petrified by this piece, you have to turn to Andrew Manze’s recording. But I am not grumbling: overall this is a most engaging collection, imaginatively devised, played with panache, and given demonstration sound quality – not a scratch can be heard. There are quite a few ‘finds’ too, notably Grieg’s delicious ‘Puck’, a sparkling scherzando, and Korngold’s impish Wichtelmannchen, with its quirky coda, while Mendelssohn’s Hexenlied has a ‘sprite’-ly charm (and taxes the pianist too, as any accomplished goblin should). Bazzini’s La ronde des lutins remains one of the most hair-raising of all violinistic showpieces, and is taken here at a fair old lick, and with much aplomb, while William Bolcom’s elegantly Graceful Ghost brings a wraith-like halcyon interlude. Here Jonathan Feldman’s stylish ‘raggery’ is affectionately debonair. Saint-Saens’ Danse macabre works well enough as a violin solo, and Feldman makes a strong ‘orchestral’ contribution, using the composer’s own piano transcription; indeed he is so good that one doesn’t greatly miss the orchestra. It was an excellent idea to include in the documentation the whole Cazalis poem which inspired this piece, with its whistling winter wind and lascivious skeletons, but David Lawrence’s somewhat high-flown essay, which replaces individual notes on each piece, was less to my taste. However, this is presumably intended as a crossover record, and it is a very good one. Paganini himself could not have presented this programme with more diabolically easy bravura, and certainly not with such a consistent sense of style.'
Devil's Dance - Gil Shaham
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