Search - Shostakovich, Glazunov, Perlman :: Violin Concertos

Grossly over-looked

Scott68 | Columbus, Ohio United States | 08/03/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For me the Glazunov is the most over-looked concerto of all, a true jem. This work has everything a listener could want - the perfect blend of hauntingly beautiful melodies combined with staggering virtuosity that sends shivers down your back, this recording is garunteed to penetrate into the soul of anyone fortunate enough to listen.Perlman plays these powerful melodies with beauty, color and undeniable conviction, never hesitating even in the most demanding technical passages, the cadenza is especially staggering.After listening to many other recordings that I own, (including Rabin, Oistrakh, Heifetz, Milstein, Shaham, and Kaler) I decided I liked Rabin's recording the best but it is impossible to find. There are others who have recorded it as well but none better and most all are of inferior sound quality. Therefore, Perlman has the best available recording, his tone and spirit can not be denied here. Even though the CD is out of print, it is not too hard to get.Shostakovich - a totally unique genius - now there is someone who I can truly say that no one ever sounded like before or since. The first time I hard a Shastakovich piece was when I saw yo yo ma on tv, the music was so new and modern and the interpertation was so full of feeling and emotion. To this day I am still not sure what piece it was but I was totally hooked, how something could be so new sounding and disonnant and yet still full of feeling and emotion. It ate away at me how intense it was for years and years. One day I chacked out Perlman's recording of the Shastakovich Violin concerto 1 and it was the same thing: unique and intense and dissonant and so emotional. It tore me up so bad I ran out and bought the recording the next day. There are no other recordings I prefer of the Shastakovich Concerto 1. The Shostakovich Violin Concerto 1 was written for David Oistrakh when Oistrakh was only 16. Of course, the recording of Oistrakh playing with Shastakovich conducting serves as a valuable document of what the composer intended it to sound like but I listen to this CD when I want to listen to Shastokovich.Hilary Hahn recently recorded the first Shostakovich Violin Concerto and I recommend that as a third recording, all are equally important to me."