Search - Bach, Mullova :: Partitas for Violin Solo

Sensational

tlyyra | Brooklyn, N.Y. USA | 03/12/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Finally, this greatest of all Bach solo violin recordings is available again, to the great delight of all music lovers and aficionados of the instrument. I won't enter into a discussion of Mullova's superlative artistry here - it is not possible to talk enough of it anyway (but see also my review of her Bach violin concertos Polygram 46675, with a somewhat erratic search header by Amazon) - as you should spend your valuable minutes in rushing to order this disc as long as you still can. After years of listening to Grumiaux, Milstein, Kremer, Accardo, Perlman, Szeryng or anyone else for that matter who's up to the task, this is still the recording that will forever alter your conception of these timeless works and their great composer. But it's there for grabs only from time to time, so stop pondering and start clicking as fast as you can; if there was only one cd that you could keep, this might well be it: nothing but pure, natural music astoundingly executed with spectacular freshness, utter truthfulness, unlimited intelligence, and awe-inspiring skill.The question of the century is: Will she ever commit the sonatas to disc?Almost forgot to add: The recorded sound is of the superbly balanced, naturally atmospheric Philips quality that we've already grown to expect from the engineers of this company."

Crisp, clean, revelatory playing

Andrew Hui | 11/30/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This disc is on my Desert Island selection. Her playing of these canonical Bach pieces is like the cleaning of the Sistine Chapel. Unlike the Szeryng (who I also adore), who conquers the formidable Channone like some Central European mountaineer scaling the craggy Alps, Mullova attacks them with grace and levity. The complex fugues are now a matrix of refracted light and mathematics, the dances quickfire and brisk, and slow movements sweet and never sentimental. She has obviously learned something from the period instruments, and yet kept the weight and rich sound of the modern violin.



In his manifesto "Six Memos for the Millenium," Italo Calvino pronounced six requirements of fiction: lightness, quickness, exactitude, visibility, and multiplicity. Somehow Mullova embodies all of these in this superlative recording."

Perfect performance recorded with excellent sound

Carlos Icaza Estrada | South America | 08/17/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mullova's interpretation and playing of the Chaconne is, to me, simply one of the best of all times (least since sound recording equipment appeared). She expresses the understated emotion of

the Chaconne with a full-bodied sound reminiscent of the great Russian violinists of the middle of the last century, like Oistrakh, Kogan and Milstein. And unlike Repin, another contemporary of hers with excellent tecnique and sound production, she respects the music and composer, never performing the kind of virtuoso show-offs that increase popularity at the expense of the work and its composer. And I couldn't agree more with another reviewer on the sound quality of this recording - it is incredibly clear and crisp, and best of all, the solo violin's sound has not been digitally retouched, so that one can hear those difficult to describe sounds that are the mark of a real violin made of centuries old wood."