Felix 1 Mendelssohn Pyotr Il039yich Tchaikovsky Kenneth Jean - Mendelssohn Tchaikovsky Violin Concertos (6 tracks) +Album Reviews +Used CD available for Swap

Good budget disc

J. Buxton | Waltham, MA United States | 04/30/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"There is some very fine playing on this disc from Nishizaki and the recorded sound is a little better than average. On the whole the Mendellsohn comes off better than the Tchaikovsky. I think the first and third movements of the Tchaikovsky are taken a bit too slow really, even though Nishizaki is a first rate virtuoso. Even so, maybe because of the slow speeds I was able to hear some detail and some phrasing in the violin passages that I had never noticed before. The Mendellsohn is a straightforward, traditional reading. This is a great disc for somebody who would like these works in their collection, but doesn't want to pay full price. Still, there are other fine budget versions around of both concertos, most notably David Oistrakh in the Tchaikovsky on Sony Essential Classics with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra (coupled with Piano Concerto no.1), and Itzhak Perlman in the Mendellsohn on EMI Red Line Classics with Andre Previn and the London Symphony (coupled with the Bruch concerto). Both are marginally better than the versions on this disc."

Brilliant soloist, slightly less brilliant recording

Leslie Richford | Selsingen, Lower Saxony | 11/06/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This 1988 recording from Slovakia could, in many ways, serve as a demonstration disc for Naxos; I own most of Naxos' 1988 recordings, and I think this one is probably the best of all. Ms. Nishizaki, wife of Naxos founder Klaus Heymann, really plays her heart out here, and although Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky can be played differently, I doubt whether they can be played much better, at least within the parameters of traditional interpretation, so full marks indeed for the soloist. Where I would put a slight question mark is behind the tempi (as other reviewers have pointed out, a little on the slow side), the acoustics (empty Concert Hall in Bratislava) and the recording technique, which, although comparatively good, tends to reduce the contribution made by the orchestra and is, to my mind, not spacious enough. But I must admit that here I am perhaps cavilling overmuch, or at least I am comparing the Naxos with other recordings that used to be sold at full price, which is in one sense unfair. If anyone wants these two wonderful violin concertos on one disc, I think only absolute sound-freaks will be disappointed here; for most listeners, this disc will be an eye-opening experience. Having said that, I must admit that I still have a slight preference for two other recordings with these concertos: for Monica Huggett's period-instrument Mendelssohn (with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment directed by Sir Charles Mackerras, now re-released on EMI Classics for Pleasure, coupled with Beethoven's Violin Concerto) and for Ruggiero Ricci's 1975 recording of the Tchaikovsky (with the Netherlands Radio Orchestra directed by Jean Fournet, now re-released on Universal Eloquence, coupled with Viktoria Postnikova's version of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1). But this is a matter of taste, and ideally you should get hold of all these recordings and do some comparing yourself."

An outstanding performance and a super bargain

Leslie Richford | 03/06/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Takako Nishizaki's performance is superb and she is backed up by an excellent conductor in Kenneth Jean. This CD compares quite well with the performances by Kyung-Wha Chung, Nathan Milstein, Arthur Grumiaux, and Jascha Heifetz (versions which I also own). In fact, this is one of my favorite versions of both Tchaikovsky and Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto. It is an outstanding performance at a super-bargain price. What more can you ask for? Highly recommended!!"

Takako Nishizaki Plays Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky

Robin Friedman | Washington, D.C. United States | 10/12/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"There is some music that every lover of classical music needs to know. The violin concertos of Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky are included in this category, together with the violin concertos of Beethoven and Brahms. This CD offers an opportunity to get to know these two great works, well-played at a budget price. I am highly partial to budget recordings. They offer an opportunity to explore unfamiliar music and new artists. I learned much about music from listening to LPs on Vox and similar budget labels, and Naxos has expanded upon budget recordings to an extent I never thought possible.

Takako Nishizaki is a gifted violinst, and she has recorded extensively in repertoire familiar and unfamiliar. She is perhaps best known for her recording of the Beethoven violin sonatas with pianist Jeno Jando. Her orchestral partner on this CD is the Slovak Philharmonic conducted by Kenneth Jean.

The Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky concertos have radically different characters. The Mendelssohn is the most introspective and lyrical of the great four and is also the most frequently played. The great violinist Joseph Joachim referred to it aptly as the "heart's jewel". It has a melodic opening movement full of feeling and features a cadenza placed after the development rather than at the end of the movement. The second movement consists of a glowing melody with a minor-key interlude and the third movement is a delightully light scherzo. The work is an interconnected whole with remarkable transition passages between the first and the second and the second and the third movements. The work has a quiet appeal and makes no attempt to overwhelm the listener with fireworks.

The Tchaikovsky concerto is a work of bravura, fireworks, and flamboyance. It offers a pair of intense melodies in the opening movement together with dazzling bridge passages for the soloist demanding a showy technique. The second movement is quiet and prayer-like while the finale returns to the virtuoso style in the form of a Russian dance. It was this third movement that so distressed the Vienese musical critic, Eduard Hanslick who wrote a famously scathing review. Time has proven Hanslick mistaken.

I generally enjoyed the performances on this CD. I preferred Ms Nishizakai's Mendelssohn. I thought her performance was done with feeling, yet with restraint, and with a somewhat angular tone. In the Tchaikovsky concerto, the element of bravura and force is essential. I missed some of that in Ms. Nishizaki's reading. The playing was lovely but lacked drive and fire in the first movement. Perhaps that was due in part to the slow tempo taken for the first movement, as noted by other reviewers of this CD. In any event, to me the performance did not capture entirely the special character of Tchaikovsky's violin concerto.

I think a new listener to these concertos would enjoy and get a great deal from these performances. It is a fine, more than adequate recording. But there are many attractive alternatives to be considered,with many versions of both these concertos available, including reissues, at only a slightly higher price than this CD. Thus, I think this CD will have the greatest appeal to listeners who already know these concertos well and who want to hear a new reading of two endlessly rewarding works of music.

Robin Friedman"

Interpretation of Tchaikovsky

Robin Friedman | 04/23/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"There is a sense of warmness in the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. Although the playing was good, spiccato and a faster speed in the Finale would be more ideal."

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