What recordings SHOULD have been done?
What recordings SHOULD have been done?
We all have our favorite violinists, and there are always things that would've been interesting to hear them do that they never recorded.
Here's some of my suggestions:
1) I wish Fritz Kreisler had recorded his own Preludium and Allegro. As a Kreisler fan, I've listened to his stuff so many times that I can hear the way he would've done it in my head. My guess is that he'd have pushed his tempi slightly ahead of the piano in the "Preludium" and played it very rhapsodically. The "Allegro" would've been a blistering display of the incomparable Kreisler finger dexterity, likely much more in tune than on a song he did like "Schon Rosmarin". His graceful speed on the "Allegro" would've exceeded that of any player today, including the renditions of Bell, Perlman, and Midori. Nobody talks about Kreisler's extraordinary Heifetz-like speed and explosiveness, especially when he was in his 20s-30s.
2) Jan Kubelik, Jascha Heifetz, Nathan Milstein, David Oistrakh, and Vasa Prihoda should've recorded all 24 Paganini Caprices. Anybody who can play all 24 of these should record them just to show that he can do it!
3) Rene Benedetti is one of the all time great violinists who I wish I had an entire record collection of. Anything from this great French violinist would definitely be on my short list of favorite violin recordings. He's another Paganini specialist who should be added to the Caprice roster.
4) Eugene Ysaye should've recorded his own Solo Sonatas. I can hear in my mind Ysaye's warbling vibrato, whiplash bowings, and murmuring languidity as he goes through his famed #3 "Ballade".
5) Jascha Heifetz could easily have recorded the Paganini Violin Concerto #1. I just cannot understand why he'd record lesser known (but still great) concerts like the Walton and Rosza when he'd have brought the house down in concert and sold many more recordings on this great warhorse.
6) The Beethoven Violin Concerto is a work that I feel should be done in period tuning with a period orchestra. That piece belongs in the hands of one guy: the incredible and underpublized Andrew Manze. He is the only baroque violinist whose sound I can recognize on the radio when I flip on the station and he's playing.
Replies (61)
I agree with all of the above (except maybe Manze). Additional one's I would have loved to hear:
Heifetz: Not only the Paganini concerti, but also the Bartok and the Shostakovich and Prokofiev 1 and the Barber and the Goldmark.
Milstein: The Sibelius and the Paganini concerti.
Kevin - I actully believe that Kreisler would have opted for a slower tempo for the Allegro than most violinists do. Perhaps the Preludio would be faster thu.
I second the Kubelik and Prihoda 24 caprices.
Szigeti-Sibelius. Hassid-Brahms, or anything. Ysaye-Ysaye.
Matthias Eklund, you are right.
The instant I submitted the thread, I suddenly realized that Kreisler would likely have taken a more relaxed and "bumptious" pace on the allegro. Before, I had been thinking of how Kreisler did his "Variations on a Theme by Corelli" at such an incredible tempo and how he could've applied some of the same techniques to the "Allegro" if he wished. But the truth is that Kreisler likely would have taken a tempo where we listeners could actually hear all the notes, a speed more like the one you suggested.
I'd like to have heard an album of Stephane Grappelli playing classical music. I feel that he had the ability to be a Perlman-like classical violinist had he wished to be.
I also wish Milstein had recorded the Sibelius.
My understanding of Heifetz is that he was NOT a fan of Paganini's music at all. He had no interest in recording any of Paganini's music as he felt it lacked substance. This is quite interesting and perhaps ironic considering that Heifetz was arguably the greatest of all techincal virtuosos (next to Paganini himself!). I believe the only Paganini piece Heifetz ever performed was the 24th Caprice and it was always with piano accompaniment.
I would LOVE to have a recording of Heifetz performing the Ysaye Sonatas. I really think this was a terrible opportunity lost.
As for Ysaye performing/recording his own Sonatas, this does not particularly interest me, which is in some ways surprising to me. I feel instead that we actually have a wonderful window into Ysaye's playing and his approach as a result of having these Sonatas. He is so careful in the inclusion of detailed articulation, specific markings for non-vibrato and other colors, and of course his guide to performance markings (bow distribution, etc.)
-Peter
All these violinist should have recorded more encore pieces, instead of recording the same concerto 3 or 4 times, what a shame!.
I would imagine that you're right about Heifetz's unwillingness to play Paganini, Peter, but he did record several Paganini works in his acoustic days.
Heifetz has a charming Moto Perpetuo recorded in 1918 that Henry Roth rightfully reveres. In that same year, he recorded the Kreisler arrangement with piano of Caprice #20. Two years later, Heifetz recorded Caprice #13. All three of those Paganini recordings were incredible for their musicianship.
Ruth Ray, Heifetz's classmate, stated in a Strad interview that Heifetz could play any of the Caprices. But it's true that he did not often feature them on recital programs.
Of modern players, I'd love to hear fellow Zakhar Bron students Maxim Vengerov and Vadim Repin in Darius Milhaud's duet for two violins.
I'd also get Nadja Salerno Sonnenberg to act as Madame Busotti in "The Red Violin".
szeryng playing ysaye sonatas...
maybe he recorded and i don`t know it... but i doubt it...
I'd love to hear Maxim and Vadim play any sort of duet, they're both spectacular players and I imagine that since they studied together and are friends, they probably would make a good ensemble! :)
Arthur Grumiaux playing the Barber after having a little benzedrine in his Ovaltine.
On one of the short publicity films Heifetz made in the 1950's, he plays the Auer version of Caprice 24 (with piano), from start to finish. It is truly fantastic.
Sander,
here's a youtube link to that performance. Unfortunately, it's a bit out of sync.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo0nJ7zJF1M&search=heifetz%20paganini
Yes, I know. I've had a copy for years on a videocassette. Not only is it out of sync, but in the variation with chords, there's a noticeable gap in the performance, like someone took out a few frames and then spliced the ends together. Still, a remarkable performance comes through.
I wish Menuhin played the Abodah in Concert Magic Concert :(
I'd like to hear Gil Shaham record the Beethoven concerto.
Hi,
I agree with Mattias's comment about Kreisler and the P&A. Ysaÿe could not have recorded his own sonatas (though he apparently could play them). He was past his prime and his performing career had long since ended when he composed them, so, he would not have done them the justice he felt they were do.
Heifetz did play much of Paganini's music, and the above comment is false. He did not recorded the Paganini because he never felt that his technique was perfect enough for a recording (his own words, as there was no splicing). Same for the Ernst concerto. There is a recording of a movement of the Goldmark on one of the live recordings in that series on Music&Arts I think.
Heifetz never played the Bartok, Shostakovitch No. 1 or Prokofiev no. 1. He did look at the Bartok, but felt no connection to the work (this according to Erick Friedman). The Prokofiev he did not play. Why I don't know.
Cheers!
I once read that Heifetz performed the Walton Viola Concerto at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. Now that would have been worth hearing...
I wish Oistrakh had recorded the compete solo Bach. All I can find is the G minor Sonata. And speaking of Bach, I sure hope Hilary Hahn records the rest of the sonatas and partitas someday soon.
P.S. Yeah, Phil, that would have been cool
I wish Fritz Kreisler would have recorded Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso.
Here are a few that it is just as well that they weren't recorded:
Fritz Kreisler playing Pop Goes the Weasel.
Jack Benny playing the Bach Sonatas & Partitas ("....Well!").
David Oistrakh playing Three Blind Mice.
Henny Youngman playing anything.
Henny Youngman was the one who once said, "There are 2 sides to every argument - my wife's side and the losing side."
I'd love to have heard Rene Benedetti or Itzhak Perlman playing Paul Nero's "The Hot Canary".
Also, I'd love to hear Sarah Chang and Midori playing Sarasate's "Navarra" as a duet. Pablo de Sarasate and Jan Kubelik might have been an even better choice.
Sander,
I'll bet Fritz kreisler would have somehow made a masterpiece out of "Pop Goes the Weasel"! I heard a recording of him playing "Lovenest". This piece was later used as the theme for the George Burns and Gracie Allen Show. He somehow extracted more heartfelt expression out of that little tune than many violinists are able to extract from the slow movement of the Beethoven Concerto.
Stern should have comercially recorded at least one piece by Paganini!.
Oliver: I stand corrected. You're right. In fact, Kreisler probably made more popular and otherwise mediocre tunes into masterpieces than anyone else.
And, yes, why DIDN'T Stern record any Paganini, or for that matter all of the Bach Sonatas?
I remember once thinking "I wish Kreisler had recorded 'Danny Boy'".
Then I realized that "Danny Boy" is actually "Londonderry Air". Kreisler played the heck out of it.
michael rabin on all 6 ysaye sonatas and ernst's polyphonic etudes.
julia fischer on the walton or delius concerti.
fritz kreisler on the elgar.
jascha heifetz on the 24 caprices.
nathan milstein on the gesangszene.
david oistrakh on the barber.
kyung wha chung on the bach s&p.
stern, perlman, zukerman, and du pre recording the complete beethoven quartet cycle.
What I'd rather have is the following pieces recorded in a satisfying way:
Mozart Sonatas
Sibelius Concerto
Bach Sonatas and Partitas
IG
Sander, based on Menuhin's observations in "Unfinished Journey," your Henny Youngman quote probably applied better to Kreisler and his wife than to Youngman and his own! (if Youngman had one; Rodney Dangerfield of course told wife jokes for years and wasn't even married).
Hi - I think Kyung Wha Chung recorded some Bach S&P but I'm not sure if she recorded them all - they were on Decca.
Ilya: there are probably more than a hundred
versions recorded of the works you've named. Do you mean that not a single one of them are good enough for you?
Amen Ilya! I still haven't found the Ultimate Sibelius. I do love Vengerov's Sibelius on that DVD (the one where he's wearing the really ugly suit), but it's still one small step away from perfection.
As for the Bach, what about Milstein (1975)? That's my favorite. :)
I'd like to hear a Sibelius that adheres to the written rhythm and tempo markings. So far, I haven't heard one yet.
For some reason, everybody plays that last movement SO FAST. They have the right to do that of course, but I just don't hear it as being a race. The rhythmic figure reminds me of horses running, and horses don't run THAT fast unless humans are driving them excessively in races for monetary gain. I haven't played this concerto with orchestra, but I'd play the 1st and 3rd movements slower and the 2nd movement faster than most people do only because I want the audiences to feel the throbbing pulse of the music all the way through.
Ilya, didn't you record the Bach S&Ps yourself? I'm sure that was to your liking, and I'd like to hear about why you did certain things the way you did. The thought process that goes into making music intrigues me just as much as the playing itself does.
Off topic: I think a violinist should be able to toot his own horn if he does something that he likes and wants people to know about. For some reason, a lot of people get totally bent out of shape the instant a violinist points to something he did as being good. It's OK to publicly admire other people's work but not your own? FAUGH! We all like our own stuff just like we admire our own reflections in the mirror, so crapping on people who dare to admit that they like their own stuff is utter hypocrisy on the part of the crappist! If a person likes something he did, he should have the right to proclaim it and let other people embrace or trash it as they see fit. A person who admits that he likes his own stuff should not be tarred and feathered no matter how awful his stuff seems to others.
Yeah, Kevin, agreed. My interpretation of Wieniawski #2 is fantastic, by the way....when I hit all the notes...which I didn't do yesterday.... :)
Greetings,
don`t hit them. Just tap them on the shoulder and say `Excuse me.`
Cheers,
buri
kevin-have you ever had horses? just wondering...
overall agreed though on the sibelius. lots of pretty good recordings, but non that are really great imo
Greetings,
its not a recording that hasn`t been done. rather `hasn`t been released` as far as I know. taht is the Guarneri version of the Bartok Quartets.
Cheers,
Buri
Wow, that would be interesting to hear.
Does anyone know, is the Vegh Quartet's Bartok available on CD?
Hi Cheng Hooi. I had no idea Ms. Chung did any of the S&P and would love to hear her play them all. I'm surprised nobody has asked her to record them to be honest seeing as how she's one of the world's most celebrated players.
At the moment of this writing, I have a wonderful mini horse and my business partners who live next door have a thoroughbred and a quarterhorse.
I'm out there shoveling manure, hoisting hay, messing with the horses, and dealing with the open sun every day even during my heavy concert season. It's therapeutic for me and keeps me "grounded". I can't imagine life without horses now, and it's been absolutely phenomenal for my violin career.
I live out in the Arizona Sonoran desert, where the foliage is very green and there's a lot of peace. I used to live in NYC, but the hustle and bustle was too much for me. Now that I live essentially on raw desert, my violin playing has lost its frenzied edge and I'm not made jittery and nervous by city living.
One of the reason I vastly prefer old recordings (mostly of the pre-Heifetz era) is because those guys lived in a world without Internet and Starbucks. It was a world of horse drawn buggies, "organic" food with less preservatives, no television and hardly any radio, and a lot less creature comforts than we have today. I don't live that way myself and I'm certainly not saying life was better then, but I am a rural resident and it definitely changes the way I hear and play music. I tend to hear and play things slower than most folks do even though I easily could rev my tempi up to standard modern performance standards.
MAura,
I have their No.3 - it's on the same record as Schubert G Major, and is as superb as the Schubert is atrocious.
IG
D Wright - If you look under Amazon.com & search Kyung Wha Chung, she had recorded the Partita No.2 & Sonata No.3. Regards - Cheng Hooi
Attached below is the Amazon review that someone wrote:
Best Chaconne out there..., November 18, 2002
Reviewer: AmericanDane (Glen Ellyn, IL USA)
This reissue of the 70's vintage vinyl is far and away the most passionate and compelling Partita #2 ever recorded. In particular, the Chaconne performance is a monumental achievement, conquering one of the great pinnacles of the violin literature. The Sonata also is world class. I had this record way back when and have sought the CD reissue for many years. It's a gift to us all that it has been issued.
The Berg was not on the original vinyl and feels out of place here. Even though Berg and Bach share a heritage, its a difficult one to detect by ear.
Kevin -
Beethoven in "period tuning" with a "period orchestra?" What tuning would that be? The A in 1806 varied widely, anywhere from 400 to 450 hz, but it was definitely a period in which tuning in general was on an upward trend. Certainly by the time Joachim started performing the concerto in 1844, the average A was closer to the modern 440 than 415. The French govt. passed a law in the 1850s setting the A to 435 hz, and many performers in other countries adapted it as well.
It would certainly be interesting to hear Manze perform it...authenticity is a different matter. And I don't know if I could stand hearing the concerto in D flat instead of D! - it would completely change the character.
Incidentally,
Zehetmair has recorded the Beethoven with Bruggen and the Orchestra of Eighteenth Century and it's the best recording of that concerto ever released to general public. In my not-so-humble opinion of course.
IG
The Vegh quartet recorded the Bartoks twice, their first version is available on the Music& Arts label.
I agree with Ilya ..Zehetmair's Beethoven is really wonderful but I just love Menuhin's interpretation..
AN
Carlos,
Yes, that is exactly what I meant. My problem with the S&P is that no violinist ever quite managed to overcome the technical obstacles there, and yet be free, a feat that is easier to do with the cello suites, and has been done on a few occasions. Mozart Sonatas have a different problem - the sort of rapport that Kremer and Harnoncourt have achieved in the Concertos is essential in the sonatas, and there was never a duo that came close to that freedom and unity.
Sibelius has a very special color, that is extremely hard to convey - perhaps it is impossible, perhaps violin wasn't even the right instrument for it?
Kevin,
Yes, I did record some of the SP, and I recorded the Sibelius also. The last movement is very slow, incidentally - too slow for its own good maybe.
IG
Very cool, Ilya.
I have not heard either of your two recordings of these pieces yet.
Ilya,
agree with you completely about Bach S&P.
I will have to listen to the Zehetmair recording - is it with a 415 A?
430, I think
IG
I've always wished that Oistrakh had recorded the Bach solo sonatas and partitas.
Jay-
Yeah, me too. He did record the g minor sonata though. You can get it on Amazon.
" The French govt. passed a law in the 1850s setting the A to 435 hz, and many performers in other countries adapted it as well."
Link please? I'm very interested in this...
Strangely enough, Bill, there has been a movement in Europe generally to restore the lower A--especially in Italy's opera houses where the few differences in vibrations make a big difference vocally(speaking as a singer). Although, in Vienna they use A 450 and the result is that they use much more lyric singers in certain roles because the tessitura is too high otherwise. It seems to me that the higher A also makes fiddles sound strident--sort of like the solo violin in Mahler's Symphony #4.
BTW-A 440 happened because Adelina Patti liked singer at Covent Garden and the A there was A 440.
My violin resonates better when it's tuned slightly lower...weird.
the A pitch in Germany and Austria is unbearable. Something has to be done about it. A government has to convene and discuss on the matter or something. Maybe violinist.com could assist in filing a petition to European Parliament about universal pitch.
IG
Mr. Ilya-
What about Mr. Perlman's 'A'? Does he tune to a specific one? It seems to me his recording of the Paganini Caprices yielded a rather high "A." Just wondering if he has ever talked to you about it, etc.
No, never talked about the A pitch in my three years in Juilliard. I was thinking more about the rest of the notes' pitch back then.
IG
Oh, you mean the notes I'm still thinking about.... :)
Yikes, I'm glad I haven't ever played in Germany or Austria! A 450 must sound awful!! (of course, knowing me, I'm going to try tuning my violin sharp today and see what happens.....)
Ilya--I like that petition idea....
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May 26, 2006 at 06:43 AM · I'm sure many will mention this, but Josef Hassid. I would love to hear anything else by him, particularly something slow and lyrical, like the Chausson Poeme. Also, of course concertos like Mendelssohn and Beethoven. By the way, does anyone know if Milstein has recorded the Poeme?
I also wish Oistrakh had recorded the complete Bach Sonatas and Partitas, as well as more showpieces.