Beethoven: Violin Concerto; Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto [Hybrid SACD]
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Composer: Ludwig van BeethovenComposer: Felix Mendelssohn
Conductor: Charles Munch
Orchestra: Boston Symphony Orchestra
Performer: Jascha Heifetz
Edition: Music CD
Format: Hybrid SACD - DSD
CD Release Date: 2006-09-28
Music Label: RCA
Soundtracks:
- Allegro, Ma Non Troppo
- Larghetto
- Rondo: Allegro
- Allegro Molto Appassionato
- Andante
- Allegretto Non Troppo; Allegro Molto Vivace
Music reviews of Beethoven: Violin Concerto; Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto [Hybrid SACD]
Music Review: Too high up the mountain
Rating: 3 Stars
Who am I writing this for? I don't care a hoot for sound-in-itself, because I'm interested in the music first, then the performance. So if you're sound buff, read the other reviews.
Same deal with Heifetz worship. he was a fiddler, not a composer. It is sheer nonsense to claim that he was "the greatest", or this recording "the best ever". These things cannot be quantified. To say such a thing is not helpful to a reader either; and we are supposed to be helpful when writing reviews.
There has always been a "problem" with Heifetz. Music lovers unacquainted with it, should be made aware that technical difficulties didn't exist for him. The outcome was that he tended to play faster than other violinists, and accordingly his recordings of the standard masterpieces (like Beethoven and Mendelssohn) may come to sound aloof, uninvolved. It is true that Heifetz had a tendency not to linger over gentle melodic lines. These are facts, not opinions. Everyone is in a position to discern them. The question is simply whether the listener feels comfortable with it or not. This is where these few lines wish to help.
Both these concertos exhibit Heifetz's urge to "get on with it". The sheer fluidity of Heifetz playing is indeed a marvel. But now I have to give my own opinion, based on something like 40 to 50 auditions of the recording and its principal rivals. I find that, in Beethoven's head movement, he does not bother to articulate the expressive episodes; and that he is strongly inclined to rush over scales running up and down, as if they were totally uninteresting - whereas Perlman for one finds plenty of honey to pour over those phrases. In certain moods you might find Heifetz's nonchalance, his refusal to dig into the music and find the greatness not his own in there, extremely irritating. The other two movements are much better in this respect - the last movement because the little tune actually sounds better on the fast side.
What I've said here about Beethoven applies in equal measure to Mendelssohn. This is not as well recorded as the other work: it is more dull, the orchestra sounds thicker and more muffled; and once or twice Heifetz's violin gives off a shriek. There is however, one issue that may tilt the balance in his favour for those who are interested in historical curiosities. For this recording Heifetz used the same violin (Khevenmuller Stradivari) on which Ferdinand David played the world premiere of the work.
I personally find these recordings indispensable as historical documents of one of the great musicians of the 20th century. But I have plenty of other recordings in my collection when I just to immerse myself in the music. If you have yet to buy your first recording of either work, then Heifetz is unlikely to be a first choice recommendation. You have know this music very well to appreiate what he is doing. But if you have other recordings and wonder what greets you here, I hope you'll get the gist of it from this short account.
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