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Track Listings
| 1. Vln Con in b (Original Version): Andante Tranquillo |
| 2. Vln Con in b (Original Version): Presto Capriccioso Alla Napolitana |
| 3. Vln Con in b (Original Version): Vivace |
| 4. Vln Con in b, Op.61: Allegro |
| 5. Vln Con in b, Op.61: Andante |
| 6. Vln Con in b, Op.61: Allegro Molto |
| 7. Vln Con in b, Op.61: Cadenza (Accompagnata: Lento) - Allegro Molto |
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Rated after Amazon's first listing of this CD by me and A.N.Other as the best version of the Elgar available - thanks to the incomparable Jascha Heifetz. Go to the next page and you may still be able to read why!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
This was one of the first Heifetz recordings I bought (RCA 1990's cd). It gradually grew on me and became a favourite, especially the Elgar. Then, at some moment, my copy became a present for the host of some party. I almost forgot about it for some years, then remembered it -primarily for the Elgar, realised how much I missed it and bought it again on the present Naxos edition, rediscovered it and even fell crazy in love with it. Since then: an ever flaming passion. Still growing!
In recent years I've taken the time to listen to other recordings of Elgar's masterpiece including those by Sammons, Menuhin, Perlman, Zukerman, Chung, Kennedy x2, Znaider, Shaham and Zehetmair. Many of them excellent, but I was particularly impressed by Sammons, Menuhin and Zehetmair. However, in my ears no one rivals Heifetz in his truly unique glowing tone, passion, panache, elegance and mesmerizing grip on the music over huge spans. For me, this is a great recording to be put alongside Flagstad as Isolde (If you can, please hear the 1937 Beecham recording!), Edwin Fischer in Das wohltemperierte Klavier, Horowitz in Tchaikovsky's B flat minor concerto, Richter in Schubert's last sonata, Schwarzkopf as Elvira, Corelli as Manrico, Pavarotti as Turiddu or Callas as Norma. Sadly it seems to be rather little known. Many people seem to "know" which is the best version (Menuhin...Kennedy...) -without having heard Heifetz. For Elgar's violin concerto -look no further!
As for the Walton concerto, Heifetz, its dedicatee, plays it just as superbly as one would expect.
The very decent mono recordings have been taken care of with the expertise we've been spoiled with by Mark Obert-Thorn.
Don't miss this one! You might even wanna sell your previous favourite recordings.
In recent years I've taken the time to listen to other recordings of Elgar's masterpiece including those by Sammons, Menuhin, Perlman, Zukerman, Chung, Kennedy x2, Znaider, Shaham and Zehetmair. Many of them excellent, but I was particularly impressed by Sammons, Menuhin and Zehetmair. However, in my ears no one rivals Heifetz in his truly unique glowing tone, passion, panache, elegance and mesmerizing grip on the music over huge spans. For me, this is a great recording to be put alongside Flagstad as Isolde (If you can, please hear the 1937 Beecham recording!), Edwin Fischer in Das wohltemperierte Klavier, Horowitz in Tchaikovsky's B flat minor concerto, Richter in Schubert's last sonata, Schwarzkopf as Elvira, Corelli as Manrico, Pavarotti as Turiddu or Callas as Norma. Sadly it seems to be rather little known. Many people seem to "know" which is the best version (Menuhin...Kennedy...) -without having heard Heifetz. For Elgar's violin concerto -look no further!
As for the Walton concerto, Heifetz, its dedicatee, plays it just as superbly as one would expect.
The very decent mono recordings have been taken care of with the expertise we've been spoiled with by Mark Obert-Thorn.
Don't miss this one! You might even wanna sell your previous favourite recordings.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
2 reviews
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
7 stars for Walton, 3 for Elgar
18 Dec 2003
Let's face it, Heifetz owned this piece, first of all, for it was written for him and all the technical stunts (slides, in particular) included are played to hilt. Every other recording of this piece that I've heard (not including his later remake with Walton conducting) makes me think that Heifetz had a much better feel for it.
This was the premiere recording (1941), and after Walton heard this recording, he chose to alter some of the orchestration (for instance, the violins now double the oboe melody after the soloist's initial statement, and other passages). The result was a fuller-sounding orchestra, while the original is much more percussive. Whether that affects the character of the piece depends on the soloist, of course, and with Heifetz, all the attention is on him anyway, so it hardly matters in this recording.
The Elgar concerto (probably the best of the English ones), is another matter. While Heifetz's playing is tremendous, I don't think this music suits his personality. There are so many tender moments in the concerto and Heifetz seems to be cold (not to start any rumors that Heifetz was ALWAYS cold-blooded), especially since he plays it faster than anyone else, which simply exacerbates the previous assessments. It's a puzzling recording, really. Also, one should note that this concerto was written for Fritz Kreisler, who had one of the warmest, most heartfelt tones of any violinist in history.
Because of the price, I would suggest buying this CD simply because the Walton is simply jaw-dropping, but if it were only at full-price, I would suggest looking for other copies of that performance. Sadly, most of them are currently out of print.
This was the premiere recording (1941), and after Walton heard this recording, he chose to alter some of the orchestration (for instance, the violins now double the oboe melody after the soloist's initial statement, and other passages). The result was a fuller-sounding orchestra, while the original is much more percussive. Whether that affects the character of the piece depends on the soloist, of course, and with Heifetz, all the attention is on him anyway, so it hardly matters in this recording.
The Elgar concerto (probably the best of the English ones), is another matter. While Heifetz's playing is tremendous, I don't think this music suits his personality. There are so many tender moments in the concerto and Heifetz seems to be cold (not to start any rumors that Heifetz was ALWAYS cold-blooded), especially since he plays it faster than anyone else, which simply exacerbates the previous assessments. It's a puzzling recording, really. Also, one should note that this concerto was written for Fritz Kreisler, who had one of the warmest, most heartfelt tones of any violinist in history.
Because of the price, I would suggest buying this CD simply because the Walton is simply jaw-dropping, but if it were only at full-price, I would suggest looking for other copies of that performance. Sadly, most of them are currently out of print.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Who needs words?
9 Oct 2008
What can you say? If this kind of music played by a supreme master is your bag then run to the CD as fast as your legs can carry you. Beautifully written, superbly executed. Lovely.
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