Daniel M?ller-Schott, Julia Fischer - Brahms: Violin Concerto and Double Concerto [SA-CD - CD compatible]
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Free Music Notes for Brahms: Violin Concerto and Double Concerto [SA-CD - CD compatible]
Free Music Review: Surprise!!!
Hit: 5 Stars
I was interested in a new recording of these two concerts, and I risked . The surprise was enormous. The performance of the Violin Concerto is really very good.Julia Fischer plays very well, perfect in intonation, comprehension of the phrases . She sounds like Mutter without affectations ( Mutter was better as a teenager , I think) . But the greatest surprise was the Double Concerto. I don't remember one recording of this work like this one.The Orchestra , the conductor and the soloists show one integration really amazing .This very beautiful music sound really in a magic manner .The violoncellist is really good, perhaps one of the most interesting of the new generation. Yes, this recording was a fantastic surprise. Free Music Review: Grand, Glorious Brahms Violin and Double Concertos Recording Courtesy of Fischer & company
Hit: 5 Stars
One of the most exciting recordings of these Brahms concertos that I've come across, this relatively new PentaTone release featuring acclaimed young German violinist Julia Fischer deserves ample recognition not only for its exceptional sound quality, but more importantly, the superlative musicianship shown by Fischer, young German cellist Daniel Muller-Schott, Russian-American conductor Yakov Kreizberg and his Netherlands Chamber Orchestra (which is listed incorrectly on the CD cover as the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra Amsterdam). Fischer's playing is consistently one with a big, bright tone, and of course she excels in the solo passages of both concertos, especially in the Joseph Joachim cadenza from the Violin Concerto first movement and the fiery gypsy-like rhythms of this concert's third movement. Hers is an interpretation that is intense and electrifying. In the Double Concerto she has an equally skillful partner in cellist Muller-Schott, whose own exquisite bowing is definitely on par with the likes of Harrell and Maisky, among others, demonstrating that he is truly an artist whose best years lie ahead. The Netherlands Chamber Orchestra is an elegant partner in both works, and a fine symphonic ensemble that deserves further attention via recordings, sounding like a Central European equivalent of the Orchestra of Saint Luke's, especially in the rich sonorities of the strings and winds. Conductor Yakov Kreizberg is, as always, excellent, serving once more as a fine partner to Fischer's (and Muller-Schott's) dazzling displays of sterling solo musicianship.
Free Music Review: Young, thoughtful musicians at work
Hit: 5 Stars
Most of us have heard the story about Brahms attending a performance of one of his piano concertos, turning to his companion and saying, "You can play it that way, too." The story encapsulates a basic truth about great pieces of music: there are as many ways of approaching them as there are thoughtful musicians. I say "thoughtful musicians" advisedly, because there is a big difference between a good, or even great, performer and a thoughtful musician. There are many good performers; these days they are generally excellent technicians, with lovely tone. Some even strive for, and achieve, dramatic effect. The thoughtful musician goes several steps further: (s)he re-examines the piece, gets to know it intimately, and puts all of his/her technique, artistry, emotion and intellect at the service of the music. These musicians re-create the music rather than perform it, and we know the difference immediately.
Such musicians are rare, and Julia Fischer, even in her precocious early 20's, seems to be one of them. We see evidence of this in her handling of the Brahms Violin Concerto. Around the time of this recording, Ms. Fischer performed the piece twice in New York City, once with the New York Philharmonic under Lorin Maazel and again with the Dresden Philharmonic under Rafael Frubeck de Burgos. By all accounts, the two performances were quite different: relaxed, congenial and lyrical with Mr. Maazel, and fearless, agressive and assertive with Mr. de Burgos. It's difficult to see this as a lack of interpretive personality on Ms. Fischer's part, since each performance was cogent within itself . It is more likely that she continues to reassess the work and re-create it based on her insights, and those of her collaborating conductor, at the time of performance.
Ms. Fischer and Mr. Kreizberg here offer an interpretation different than either of the ones Ms. Fischer played in New York. This is an inward-looking, rapsodic performance, foregoing the more emphatic heroic fireworks . While some see the first movement of this concerto as an argument or struggle between the violin and orchestra, Fischer and Kreizberg present it as a conversation, more along the lines of Brahms' Second Piano Concerto. Tempi do fluctuate (especially in the first movement), but with a purpose. The rapsodic passages are taken more slowly than I've heard them, achingly beautiful and inhabiting a lyrical, emotive world where time is suspended. It's tough going to allow for this kind of flexibility and keep the movement from falling apart, and Kreizberg, to his credit, mostly succeeds. Fischer is lyrical, strong, firey or passionate depending on what the music demands. The second movement is one of the sweetest and most tender version I've heard, and the third, while not quite hell-bent-for-leather, is vibrant. I own three other versions of this piece -- Kogan/Bruch, Oistrach/Klemperer and Szeryng/Monteux -- and gladly add Fischer/Kreizberg to that august company.
The performance of the Double Concerto is more straightforward. The Double Concerto doesn't get the same attention that Brahms' violin or piano concerti do, and I believe this is due largely to the music's tendency toward emotional hystrionics (not something we usually associate with late Brahms). There are a few truly outstanding performances of this piece which remind us of the vigor and lyricism at its heart, and this is one of them. Fischer, Muller-Schott and Kreizberg approach the piece with youthful energy and vigor. Tempi are brisk, Brahms' more over-the-top wailings are kept restrained, and what we find is lyrical gem. This is probably one of the two or three best performances of this piece I've heard, one which blows off the cobwebs, opens the windows and lets in the fresh air.
The Netherlands Philharmonic performs like one of the best orchestras around, with gorgeous tone and excellent execution. Pentatone has done all of the musicians proud with spacious, smooth and sumptuous sound with natural instrument placement. I do not have an SACD player and so cannot comment on that layer.
There's a tendency amongst some of us -- myself included -- to praise performances from the past on major masterworks such as these. We do ourselves a disservice if we ignore what our young musicians have to say about them. Ms. Fischer doesn't sound or play like Mr. Oistrach or Mr. Kogan, or Mr. Heifetz for that matter. Nor should she. She may have something different to say about this piece in 5 years, or 10 or 20, but that doesn't make what she has to say about it now any less valid or moving. Amongst the younger violinists, the only other one I've heard who has approached this violin concerto with similar daring and personality is Anna Sophie Mutter in her startling performance with Kurt Mazur. Ms. Fischer doesn't take quite the risks that Ms. Mutter does, but she doesn't run afoul of grandstanding either. These young musicians have taken Brahms' injunction -- "You can play it that way too" -- to heart. Give a listen. I doubt you will be disappointed.
Free Music Review: RELIVING A PERFORMANCE
Hit: 5 Stars
Julia Fischer played the Brahms' Violin concerto in D Major not too long ago in Aspen Colorado. I had the great pleasure of hearing her and was very impressed with her playing. Therefore, with this splendid recording, I am able to relive that occasion splendidly. As before, Julia plays this monumental work wonderfully with great intonation and with very beautiful tone. I'm once again very impressed. This recording even has an added bonus. Julia Fischer joined by that splendid cellist David Muller-Schott play Brahms' Double concerto in A minor for cello and violin. What a treat. Julia Fischer and David Muller-Schott play that monumental work most wonderfully too again with beautiful tone and with great intonation.
I truly loved this album. The performances are terrific as well as the sound of the recording is terrific also--all that I can say is bravo!
Free Music Review: The brilliant Fischr is let down by lackluster conducting
Hit: 4 Stars
As often happens at Amazon, reviewers become so subjective that they don't give us a fair portrayal of the performance in question. Julia Fischer is quite distinctive here, offering a rather small-voiced, intimate view of Brahms, sensitive rather than heroic. She's at the oppoiste extreme from Oistrakh, much closer to Hilary Hahn. Her musical ideas are not intrusive; she doesn't attempt to make the Violin Concerto a signature dish concocted from special ingredients. There is instead a flow of keen musicality kept on a personal, poetic level. The only time Fischer deliberately strikes sparks is in the finale, taken fast with extra emphasis on the gypsy flavor of the rhythmic line.
Having read the Gramophone's rave for this CD, along with the reviews at Amazon, I must be in a minority over Kreizberg's contribution. He seems mundane throughout, glibly stating all the main themes before the soloist enters, never probing beneath the surface. The best you can say is that he's energettic and robust. Mediocre condcuting is damaging in a concerto conceived symphonically. Without an equal partner on the podium, even the greatest soloist offers only half a loaf.
Kreizberg fares a little better in the late, melancholy Double Concerto, but here Fischer finds a soulmate in Mueller-Schott. Together they transform the two solo parts, bringing lightness and brightness to Brahms's at times overwrought writing. This is the most mercurial, optimistic reading I've ever heard -- it deserves to stand beside the excellent one on DG from Abbado with Gil Shaham and Jian Wang. How lovely to feel a fresh breeze blowing through the piece.
In sum, I have nothing but praise for Fischer, but the lack of equally inspired conducting comes as a disappointment.