Search - Jascha Heifetz :: Concertos: The Heifetz Collection Volume 20

Turning dross to gold

Chicagotinnitus | chicago | 07/14/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"These are not works that make you think. In the feast of the violin repertoire, these are lollipops. That said, Heifetz manages to cook up quite an impressive case for these small and, frankly, insubstantial works. The Wieniawski, undoubtedly the best known of these works, is dazzling in virtuosity, and its melodic lines are memorable in Heifetz's hands. Its second mvmnt Romance is unsurpassed on record. The Bruch, a forgotten son next to the G minor Concerto and Scottish Fantasy, is revealed to be full of mysterious lyricism and a bouyant finale. Jascha pulls its meandering melodies into a meaningful whole - brining perspective to its passionate sighs and outbursts. The Conus, the real find in this collection, is a suave and delightful gem, full of tunefull melodies and virtuoustic displays. Fun music well worth discovering. Or maybe its just Heifetz."

Still another forgotten russian jem, reissue this !!!!!

Scott68 | Columbus, Ohio United States | 02/05/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Add the Conus to the list of forgotten russian violin masterpieces alongside the Miakovsky and Taneyev. This work has everything a music lover and violinist could ever want: moments of soaring lyrical melody morphing into dramatic displays of virtuosity. There simply is no finer recording of the Conus available thus far.Mr. Heifetz is one of the best known soloists of the century and of course he handles this work with a fine staccato and for once I have to admit I really like his tone and vibrato. This is easily the best recording I have ever heard of Mr Heifetz's playing and Im in love with this concerto. His tone is what I describe as a white translucent sound, not as colorful as Oistrakh or Emlan but his sound is his own and projects well and balances well with the orchestra, when you hear Heifetz you know it is him, probably the most unique and distinctive of all soloists. His playing always has an edge and sense of agression and every note is so cleanly articulated, never is there any blurring togather of notes, truly Heifetz is easliy one of the best soloists the world has known and was able to maintain this level of consistency from about 1910 - 1970, an unprescidented 60 years of violin mastry unmatched by anoy other violinist for the 20th century. I can not help but to respect that fact.While I find the sound quality and playing to be fantastic for a mono recording, I would love to hear a modern recording by someone like Repin, Oliveira, Kavakos, or Ehnes and this is a concerto that should be played alot more in the mainstream of soloists. Even still, if anyone out there is listening, this is a phenominal recording that deserves to be reissued.For those of you who don't know, Wieniawski has always been the next best thing to Paganini who wrote the most elaborate music showcasing extreme technique while still containing melody with substance, make that fierce melody. Sadly, two of the finest recordings by Gitlis and Szeryng are simply not available. My opinion is that no one even came close to the amount of beauty that Rabin created while still keeping that intense level of agression, flawless intonation, and impeccable technique. The Heifetz recording is however the only other available recording I can listen to as a contrast. Somehow, on a personal level, I find the recordings of Perlman and Shaham to be full of great tone but lacking musically. Max Bruch wrote music of undeniable beauty with more emphasis on musical maturity than pyrotechnics. His neglected second violin concerto is no exception. The Bruch 2 is not as appealing as the first or third concertos to me but is still an intensely melodic work filled with so much beauty that you can not help but to fall in love with it. For quality of tone, I seem to prefer Accardo and for an unparalleled level of expression and musicality I prefer Ehnes, but this serves as a great third opinion, being more of a true virtuoso-like performance.This is easly a 5 star CD all the way, please reissue this soon."

Lesser known works played by the best known violinist

Christopher Urrutia | Riverside, CA United States | 03/07/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In these works for violin and orchestra Heifetz shows once again why he is so beloved. Heifetz was at the peak of his powers both technically and in his musical maturaty. The little known Conus violin concerto is played so that you find yourself asking why this work is not performed more often. It ends with such an exciting coda with Heifetz pulling out all his virtuosity and passion. The orchestra also does a good job in accompanying him. A very unique and good CD to add to your collection."