Search - Felix [1] Mendelssohn, Max Bruch, Camille Saint-Saens :: Ultimate Violin Classics: The Essential Masterpieces [Box Set]

Superb

David Saemann | 10/25/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is an excellent value. Four of the greatest violinists in history captured in some of their best repertoire. The first CD is devoted to Ruggiero Ricci. He plays stunning versions of the Mendelssohn and Bruch No. 1 Concerti. It is an early stereo recording from the mid-1950's, and the sound of the orchestra is somewhat dim, but Ricci's playing carries all before it. Two popular Saint-Saens works complete the CD, in better sound. George Mendelssohn Bartholdy said to me that Ricci was as good as Heifetz, but he looks like a gnome. I don't know if that explains his career, but his playing on this disc is everything one could desire. Henryk Szeryng plays Mozart's 3rd through 5th concertos on the second disc, with a rich tone and moderate tempos, backed by the excellent support of the New Philharmonia conducted by the underrated Sir Alexander Gibson. 3 and 5 have superb sound engineering, 4 somewhat less so. The third disc pairs David Oistrakh and Lev Oborin in Beethoven's Kreutzer and Spring Sonatas. The sound engineering is somewhat old fashioned, with the two instruments each occupying their own channel. The slow movement of the Spring is in monaural, perhaps due to a defect in the stereo master tape. The performances are leisurely and chamber-like, but with real charisma all the same. The last two CDs are devoted to popular encores played by Arthur Grumiaux. He plays with fabulous technique and great sensitivity, whether in Kreisler, Massenet's Meditation from Thais, or the bravura of Ravel's Tzigane. In sum, this is a box that will delight both beginners and seasoned collectors."

The big box of violin virtuosi

Annie Van Auken | Planet Earth | 07/09/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The five CDs that comprise DECCA's ULTIMATE VIOLIN CLASSICS are stored in individual jewel cases within a relatively thin-ply paper box. There are no liner notes beyond album contents. All ADD stereo dubs have uniformly fine audio.



PROGRAM--



---DISC ONE (Ruggiero Ricci w/London Sym. conducted by Piero Gamba):

MENDELSSOHN: Violin Concerto #2 in E minor

[12:54] I - Allegro molto appassionato

[7:37] II - Andante

[6:15] III - Allegro non troppo - Allegro molto vivace

BRUCH: Violin Concerto #1 in G minor

[7:49] I - Varspiel: Allegro moderato

[8:11] II - Adagio

[7:18] III - Allegro energico

[9:13] SAINT-SAENS: Havanaise

[3:29] SAINT-SAENS: Introduction et Rondo capriccioso

---TOTAL PLAYING TIME: 68:20



---DISC TWO (Henryk Szeryng w/New Philharmonia conducted by Sir Alexander Gibson):

MOZART: Violin Concerto #3 in G major (Cadenzas: Sam Franko)

[9:59] I - Allegro

[8:16] II - Adagio

[6:26] III - Rondeau: Allegro

MOZART: Violin Concerto #4 in D major (Cadenzas: Joseph Joachim)

[9:29] I - Allegro

[6:46] II - Andante cantabile

MOZART: Violin Concerto #5 in A major (Cadenzas: Joseph Joachim)

[9:44] I - Allegro

[9:24] II - Adagio

[8:50] III - Rondeau [Tempo di minuetto]

---TOTAL PLAYING TIME: 76:46



---DISC THREE (David Oistrakh, violin; Lev Oborin, piano)

BEETHOVEN: "Kreutzer" Sonata (#9 in A major for violin & piano)

[11:43] i - Adagio sostenuto

[15:26] II - Andante con Variazioni

[7:00] III - Finale

BEETHOVEN: "Spring" Sonata (#5 in F major for violin & piano)

[10:13] I - Allegro

[6:06] II - Adagio molto espressivo

[1:19] III - Scherzo: Allegro molto

[7:00] IV - Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo

---TOTAL PLAYING TIME: 58:47



---DISC FOUR (Arthur Grumiaux, violin; István Hajdu, piano)

[1:51] VON PARADIS: Sicilienne (arr. Dushkin)

[7:22] MOZART: Rondo, K250 (arr. Kreisler)

[2:43] GLUCK: Dance of the Blessed Spirits (arr. Kreisler)

[3:53] GRANADOS: Andaluza, Spanish Dance #5 (arr. Kreisler)

[2:06] KREISLER: Schön Rosmarin

[3:27] KREISLER: Liebesleid

[3:21] KREISLER: Liebesfreud

[2:10] VERACINI: Allegro

[2:49] VIVALDI: Siciliano, RV 565

[2:14] LECLAIR: Tambourin

[2:34] BEETHOVEN: Minuet in G major, WoO 10#2

[4:14] SCHUBERT: Ave Maria, D839

[3:19] DVORAK: Humoresque in G flat major, op.101 #7

[4:16] MASSENET: Meditation from "Thaïs"

[2:04] TCHAIKOVSKY: Valse sentimentale, op.51 #6

[3:26] VERACINI: Largo (arr. Corti)

[2:50] KREISLER: Rondino on a Theme of Beethoven

[1:55] KREISLER: Andantino in the Style of Padre Martini

[3:49] ELGAR: La Capricieuse

[2:50] FAURE: Après un rêve, op.7 #1

[2:32] ALBENIZ: Tango, op.165 #2 (arr. Kreisler)

[2:30] VON VECSEY: Valse triste

[3:08] PONCE: Estrelita (arr. Heifetz)

[3:30] SIBELIUS: Nocturne, op.51 #3 (arr. Pressi)

---TOTAL PLAYING TIME: 74:53



---DISC FIVE (Arthur Grumiaux, violin; István Hajdu, piano)

[2:37] PERGOLESI: Andantino

[2:39] SCHUBERT: Ständchen (Serenade), D957 #4

[4:22] MOZART: Menuetto (Divertimento in D major), K334

[2:33] SCHUMANN: Träumerei, op.15 #7

[3:19] DVORAK: Larghetto (Sonatina in G major, op.100)

[4:16] BACH/GOUNOD: Ave Maria

[4:20] PAGANINI: Sonata #12 in E minor, op.3 #6)

[2:06] DVORAK: Songs My Mother Taught Me, op.55 #4

[7:45] WIENIAWSKI: Souvenir de Moscou

[2:47] RAVEL: Pièce en forme de habanera (arr. Catherine)

[8:08] SARASATE: Ziegunerweisen (Gypsy Airs)

[2:55] FIOCCO: Allegro (arr. Bent & O'Neill)

[2:45] FAURE: Les Berceaux, op.23 #1

[10:16] RAVEL: Tzigane

[5:56] BLOCH: Nigunn ("Baal Shem")

[7:52] KODALY: Adagio

---TOTAL PLAYING TIME: 74:36"