Search - Louis Spohr, Max Bruch, Henryk Wieniawski :: Morini in Concert

Outstanding and idiosyncratic

Paul Geffen | 03/01/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The name Erica Morini is rarely heard today, and it is well-known only to a few collectors and historians. Morini was undoubtedly one of the greatest violinists of this century, the equal of Kreisler, Milstein, Heifetz, and Szigeti, but she has unfortunately and unaccountably fallen into obscurity. Morini was born in Trieste in 1904 to a musical family, and raised in Vienna. A prodigy, she made debuts in Leipzig and Berlin in 1916 under Arthur Nikisch, and a US debut in 1920 with Bodanzky. The circumstances of her introduction to American audiences were exceptional. Morini's manager, concerned that a woman would not be taken seriously as a musician, arranged to have her play no fewer than three concertos, by Mozart, Vieuxtemps, and Mendelssohn. This daring move paid off handsomely and immediately established Erica Morini as a talent of the first rank. For more than forty years, Morini was a regular feature of the concert schedules of the major orchestras of Europe. She made many recordings of concertos with conductors including Bruno Walter and George Szell, and of chamber works with Firkusny and others. These were for a time available in the US on the Decca and Westminster labels; they are now very rare and highly prized by collectors. This Arbiter release brings us three live performances from late in Morini's career, though not in her life, as she lived until 1995. These concertos present the range of her repertoire. The Spohr Concerto is a rarely heard and even more rarely recorded piece which Morini promoted. She plays it with much energy and enthusiasm, a full tone, bold gestures, and lots of confidence. This is one of the longer concertos in the literature and filled with unexpected rewards. Max Bruch wrote three concertos for violin, and Morini studied all of them with the composer. This performance of the best known of the three is as close to "definitive" as can be. Here the soloist uses a thinner tone and more controlled style than in the Spohr. At times, especially in the Wieniawski, Morini's playing can be exciting while also seeming restrained and even "ladylike." Comparing the finale of the Wieniawski concerto with recordings by Heifetz and Gil Shaham, we find that Heifetz is more aggressive, more passionate, and faster, and he uses considerably more vibrato. Shaham has a little more fun with this music and uses a wider variety of tone colors. (Unfortunately DG's recording of Shaham has too much echo and the soloist cannot be heard clearly.) An elegant soulfulness pervades Morini's performances. Her technique is consistently outstanding, and she scrupulously avoids the excesses of, say, Kreisler, who will occasionally stray into poor intonation to make a point. Morini's style is refined and rarefied -- not to everyone's taste, perhaps, but well worth acquiring. Frederic Waldman and Musica Aeterna provide ideal support for the soloist. They play cleanly and never attract attention. These recordings were made on acetate discs, but there's no surface noise to be heard in these outstanding transfers. There is also very little noise from the audience. The solo part stand out clearly, and the acoustics are generally dry. These recordings have never been available before, and there are more to come. Arbiter promises a series of discs featuring Erica Morini, not one of which is a reissue. This is a most welcome treat for all connoisseurs of fine music."

Outstanding

Paul Geffen | 08/24/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

""No one plays Kreisler like Morini", said Kreisler himself. A pupil of Otakar Sevcik, Erica Morini was one of the major violinists of this century and her few recordings are precious. Here you will find three live performances of 19th century concertos by Spohr, Wieniawski and Bruch. Orchestra and conductor are less known but they deserve a mention as they magnificently accompany the soloist in these oft-heard concertos. As for Morini, I've rarely heard a violinist playing better in any of these works : maybe Rabin in the Wieniawski, but in Spohr and Bruch, she's second to none. All serious music-lovers should rush on this CD that boasts with very clean transfers and no audience noise at all. The booklet is very complete and all in all, I still consider this CD as a major part of my record collection."