Elgar Violin Concerto

Our Price: $17.99
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $4.95 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more new music releases
Listen soundtracks from this album

Compare Prices for Elgar Violin Concerto

Buy this Music CD at online store in your country
Canadian Music Store

Music CD Cover

Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Original Language)
CD Release Date: 1994-02-15
Music Label: RCA
Soundtracks:

Vn Con, Op.61 in b: Allegro
Vn Con, Op.61 in b: Andante
Vn Con, Op.61 in b: Allegro Molto
Intro And Allegro For Str Orch And Str Qt, Op.47

Free Music Notes for Elgar Violin Concerto

Free Music Review: The best performance of a great concerto
Hit: 5 Stars

This Elgar violin concerto is my favorite classical work and this is my favorite performance.

I have every recording of the concerto that I know of (other than the partial Marie Hall one) and I've attended live performances by Midori with Lockington and the Oregon Symphony (excellent), Gil Shaham with Zinman and the Chicago Symphony (excellent) and Tasmin Little with Schwarz and the Seattle Symphony (mediocre). My wife and I flew from Oregon to Chicago in the February cold to hear the Shaham performance. I mention these things to show that I am very familiar with the work and really care for it.

My favorite performance was the Chung until this one arrived. Both are magnificently played, beautifully conducted, and emotionally intense. The Takezawa is just a shade better in all respects.

This performance didn't seem to stay on the market long. The influential Penguin guide (which is generally good), to its shame, gave it a lowly two-star review. The recording was never re-issued as far as I know and I wonder if the review killed it.

Of course the Menuhin performance conducted by Elgar is a classic, deservingly so, and must be heard by any lover of this work. Menuhin was only 16 and had astonishing techinical prowess then. The interpretation is more lyrical, less intense, than the Chung and Takezawa performances, and this approach fits the work well. The recording is from 1933 but the sound is good enough that the work can be enjoyed, and the technique admired.

Other exceptional performances are those by Hahn, Shaham, Heifetz, and Ehnes. Hahn's is the most technically perfect. She is an astonishing artist. I loved the Shaham performance when I heard it live and was surprised when the recording did not exceed Chung and Takezawa. Heifetz's performance is very different, and gradually I am coming to like it. He is also an astonishing artist, of course (but I'm not sure he was better than Hahn is).

Graffin has a nice performance, and it is the only performance of the work as it was before Elgar made minor changes for Kreisler.

I am distinctly in the minority in not being able to tolerate either Kennedy performance. I'm not sure why. I also dislike the Kang because of intonation problems, and it astonishes me that it has received good reviews.

I would love for Julia Fischer to record this concerto.

Write your own review

More free music notes:
1

Classical Music CDs

Music > Styles

Music Genres

Top music charts in Classical Music CDs

Winterscapes
by London Philharmonic
Prophetic Voice; Published: 2000-07; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $2.74
Price in other shops: ~~$6.99~~

The Queen, the Bear, & the Bumblebee Image

The Queen, the Bear, & the Bumblebee
by Dini Petty
Children's Group; Published: 2001-03; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $13.39
Price in other shops: ~~$13.98~~

Classical Kids - Beethoven Lives Upstairs Cdr
Release date: 2000-04-05; Music CD
Best price: $25.98

Tchaikovsky (Life and Works (Naxos)) Image

Tchaikovsky (Life and Works (Naxos))
by Malcolm Sinclair, Jeremy Siepmann
Naxos; Published: 2003-11; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $35.99

Jose Carreras - Jose Carreras - Jubileum Concert [VHS]
Sling Shot; Release date: 2000-04-18; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $5.87
Price in other shops: ~~$9.99~~

Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker / Nureyev, Park, Royal Ballet [VHS]
Kultur Video; Release date: 1997-09-09; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $29.94
Price in other shops: ~~$29.95~~

Rambert Dance Company - Lonely Town Lonley Street / Sergeant's Early Dream [VHS]
Kultur Video; Release date: 1997-10-28; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $24.99
Price in other shops: ~~$29.95~~

Winter Music: Composing the North
by John Luther Adams
Wesleyan; Published: 2004-11-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $25.93
Price in other shops: ~~$25.95~~