Search - Antonin Dvorak, Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky, Bernhard Hartog :: Dvorak: String Sextet; Tchaikovsky: Souvenir de Florence

A must have, beautiful performance; dont let bias interfere

Adalberto Valle | Mayagüez, Puerto Rico USA | 10/21/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I admit almost every person is biased in many ways. But bias can get in your way for enjoying truly great musical experiences. Thats this recording, a moving emotional performance by top-class artists. I mention bias because a fellow reviewer gave 2 out of 5 to this cd recording. (Another Dorothy Delay hater maybe?). Well the truth is this recording is ALL too great to let your prejudices interfere with the enjoyment of a truly beautiful musical experience. I am a musician, a violinist, and I have a mature ear. I know what I hear and this recording is NOT unmusical. Rather its a superb recording that must be recommended. About Sarah, this is one of the best recordings in which she participates. She really shimmers here as well as all the other great players. Whoever says Sarah Chang is unmusical or just a "technician" is truly biased; no matter your musical background (US, Europe, Russia) beautiful music is beautiful music. And I hear all the great soloists and have their recordings; Sarah is among the foremost violin soloists right now, a reality many dislike but true nonetheless. And her vibrato is beautiful, full of emotion. And it VARIES, especially in the latest recordings. I know what I am talking about since I have all her cds (and I AM a violinist). I hope you get this recording and enjoy it for many years to come. Too good to avoid it. Great sound quality and beautiful chamber music comradeship, as if they've been playing together for a long time. Unique musical experience: thanks to Sarah and all others players for this great music. I hope to live more to hear more music like this. (I also recommend Sarah's recording of the Goldmark violin concerto, and her Strauss violin Sonata)."

Two plush Romantic works get ultra-plush treatment

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 05/14/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Souvenir de Florence is Tchaikovsky's strongest chamber work, full of melodic passion from his enthralled memories of Italy (though one would be hard-pressed to hear the idiom as anything but the lush Russian lyricism of his String Serenade in C). The Dvorak String Sextet Op. 48 is a lesser work, rarely played in concert but itself a river of melody, imbued with Slavic folk touches in the 'Dumka' second movement and Furiant third movement. A string sextet is a plush vehicle for a melodist, if a nightmare for structuring intricate development sections. Neither Dvorak nor Tchaikovsky wanders far from the simple form of a serenade, so we can sit back and enjoy the sensual delights.



Chang and company certainly rovide them--EMI's excellent sonics give us every luscious inner line, and the ensemble achieved among the veteran Berlin Phil. players is superlative. Every chord is prefectly balanced; intonaiton is impeccable. Even the great chamber music centers like Marlboro don't produce such unanimity. Despite her status as little-doll-prodigy-growing-up, Chang holds her own musically; indeed, the long passage for violin that begins the second movement of Souvenir de Florence displays mature, refined phrasing. I was extremely impressed throughout and would give both performances first place among the competition I've heard over the years, particularly the masterful Tchaikovsky."