Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stunning, 27 Mar 2006
I already had Milstein's recording of the Mendelssohn, Bruch and Tchaikovsky concertos and was looking to buy a recording of the Bach Sonatas and Partitas. I had heard alot of good things about his Bach recordings and after having been blown away by his Mendelssohn, decided to go for this recording. Nothing could have possibly prepared me for what can only be described as some of the most breathtaking performances I have ever heard. This man deserves so much more recognition than he currently gets.He puts the music first in these recordings, like he always did, with none of the egotistical interpretations that many of the other great violinists seem to display. He plays them with an immense amount of passion and love for the music, portraying the religious contemplation and power in Bach's works, while maintaining an amazingly natural technique that, in my opinion, is the closest a violinist will probably ever get to perfection. There is not one mediocre movement on this CD and I have yet to hear a recording that even comes close to matching it. Every track is a gem but to name a few highlights, the Fugue in the G minor sonata is nothing short of incredible, whilst the Borea and Double in the B minor partita make you want to practise alot more! The chaccone in the D minor partita is out this world and the Preludio to the E major partita is seamless. I cannot find one critisism with this performance! The sound is excellent and you will not find any ridiculous cuts on these Discs as Milstein was a fanatic about continuity and so when he had to do any retakes (which i wouldn't imagine was very often!) he would go back to the start of the movement or from a repeat instead of begining halfway through phrases. You cannot go wrong with this disc! The violin at it's most sublime.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Benevolent, 12 Feb 2009
Choleric though Bach seems to have been as a man, he did leave the world an enormous treasure of music in its purest form. There is always something humane, and somehow benevolent, to Bach's music.
These are exactly the qualities that Milstein brings out. I used to have a recording on EMI by the young Yehudi Menuhin, still a wunderkind when it was recorded. That is a stunning performance and is recommendable for many qualities. Yet, it made me think "virtuosity" rather than "benevolence".
After listening to Milstein once, I put Menuhin up for sale. The way these hypnotic works are played here just seems perfect. The focus is entirely on the music, not on the performer.
German historian Joachim Fernau argued that Bach was using music as a means to communicate with the god he believed in, introducing a highly intimate, and spiritual dimension to (non-sacred) music. These works are a case in point, and Milstein seems to follow Bach's lead.
The violin is recorded with great clarity, and yet with beautiful warmth, too.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
A personal comparison of various recordings of Bach's Partitas and Sonatas for Violin Solo, 11 Oct 2009
I have only been listening to nine different recordings of these works, so I am in fact a complete novice in the field (and no musicologist at all), all the same I will try to give short comments on these nine interpretations that just might help you to choose which set you want to buy.
My personal favourite is no doubt John Holloway's recording (on ECM). When I first heard it I had only been listening to Shlomo Mintz (on DG) and Hilary Hahn (on Sony), so I feared the great Ciaccona/Chaconne of BWV 1004, because both of those artists' interpretations of that movement sounded like musical warfare, full of shrieks and noises. But Hallelujah! Guess what happened? The movement made sense to me for the first time - in Holloway's hands it is actually music! And the rest of the set also sparkles in Holloway's recording. What is so special about Holloway's version is that it has an almost spiritual, metaphysical aspect to it that nobody else achieves. It is a recording full of sublime transcendental beauty. That aspect of course is emphasized by the wonderful church acoustics (another great Manfred Eicher production from ECM). The booklet contains a performer's note and a few facsimile pages of Bach's beautiful handwritten score. If you are looking for just one recording, you don't really have to read further - I recommend that you buy Holloway's set.
If you have not bought Holloway's set yet, I have to say a little more about Mintz and Hahn: The aggressive approach in Mintz' Ciaccona/Chaconne is more or less present throughout Mintz' recording and in my opinion his playing does not quite justify it - it is "agitated" without having a reason to be so. If you want the sort of expressive power which Mintz is trying to put into these works Nathan Milstein (on DG) is a better option. The problem with Hahn is that you are more impressed than moved; she plays fast - some might even say that she is superficial and skates over the essentials. Hahn also has a tendency to romanticize in the slow movements. Besides it is not a complete recording, she only plays half the works (BWV 1004, 1005 and 1006). However, her version of BWV 1006 is probably my favourite because of its exquisite, exuberant brilliance that fits that partita well.
Sigiswald Kuijken (on DHM) is almost as good as Holloway and he almost reaches Holloway's metaphysical heights, but his Ciaccona/Chaconne is not entirely perfect, it sounds like separate movements put together rather than as a whole. The performance has rougher edges than Holloway's, which can be a good thing.
Viktoria Mullova (on Onyx) and Rachel Podger (on Channel) are more down to earth than Holloway, but they both play beautifully. Maybe Podger is a somewhat overrated performer of Bach's music for solo violin. Her recording has been praised by numerous critics and it is so beautiful that I would like to like it more, but isn't it just a little bit boring? I am listening to it right now and again I get this sort of feeling: "Yes, it is beautiful, but why am I listening to it?" That question answers itself when I listen to Holloway or Kuijken. With Kuijken and Holloway playing the music explains itself, it says: "I will just explain how this sounds." If you are looking for clarity and serenity choose Mullova. Make sure you buy the new Onyx set not the old Philips release!
If you want the slow movements played slow and the rest played beautifully by a young talented violinist Julia Fischer (on Pentatone) should be your choice.
Henryk Szeryng's first recording (on Sony) from 1955 is very serious and intense, a haunting (but also demanding) experience. Szeryng later made another recording for DG but I have not heard it (yet). Of course you should expect less than perfect sound on a recording that is more than fifty years old.
Mullova, Kuijken, Podger and Holloway play period instruments.
Szeryng, Mintz, Milstein, Hahn and Fischer play modern instruments.
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~ Mendelssohn/Bruch/Tchaikovsky
~ Ludwig van Beethoven
![Nathan Milstein Performs [4cd Longbox]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51MCNWTZZQL._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
~ Ludwig van Beethoven
~ Henryk Szeryng
~ Johann Sebastian Bach
