Mozart - Violin Concertos
May 12, 2006 at 5:26 PM Post #46 of 66
Quote:

Originally Posted by giovanni
may be, even though I've got to tell you, I was much more impressed by the SQ than the actual music as performed, that sound was what really strucked me.


Everything about it really got me. It was a wonderful experience and a horrible effort to tear myself away.
 
May 13, 2006 at 2:31 PM Post #48 of 66
Quote:

Originally Posted by Oistrakh
Menuhin beats all the ones mentioned.

James Ehnes a close second



Manze and Biondi beat Menuhin and Ehnes. Hands down.
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May 13, 2006 at 3:19 PM Post #49 of 66
I think they are different approach at different times (and tastes). So, I think it's not fair for Menuhin. Although I prefer Manze and Hogwood (as I said before in this thread).
And now, Biondi, another one I must listen
mad.gif
. Too much Mozart this year.
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May 14, 2006 at 11:09 AM Post #50 of 66
Quote:

Originally Posted by Shosta
I think they are different approach at different times (and tastes). So, I think it's not fair for Menuhin. Although I prefer Manze and Hogwood (as I said before in this thread).
And now, Biondi, another one I must listen
mad.gif
. Too much Mozart this year.
evil_smiley.gif



Hi Shosta!

No, Andrew Manze, like Monica Huggett before him and Fabio Biondi after him, was his own conductor in Mozart (Hogwood recorded these pieces with Simon Standage some time ago), and yes, you definitely owe it to yourself to hear Biondi's new album - wow!

I visited the local harmonia mundi distributor today, and saw Chiara Banchini new recording which, happily, does not contain any of the five concertos: Cassation K63 (1769), Serenata notturna K239 (1776) and Concertone K190 (1773). With this title, Zig-Zag Territories also experiment with direct downloads, which are about 1/3 cheaper than physical CD's.

 
Jul 15, 2006 at 3:18 PM Post #52 of 66
Has anyone tried Julia Fischer's recordings? I only heard it on the radio a few months ago but remember myself really enjoyed it. It's one of those rare 'yes, that's how i like it done' moments.
 
Jul 16, 2006 at 7:10 AM Post #53 of 66
Quote:

Originally Posted by Oistrakh
why?


Ask Ehnes. Menuhin is not available for any kind of comments (or dueling) any more.
wink.gif

Seriously, the Manze is better recorded and the Biondi is more fun to listen to than their
competitiors here.
 
Feb 3, 2007 at 3:36 PM Post #55 of 66
Quote:

Originally Posted by Oistrakh /img/forum/go_quote.gif
tyson, what do you mean oistrakh's set is too "old school"? Have you heard Szeryng's set?


I think he means "before HIP." Both Oistrakh's and Szeryng's styles derive from the romantic tradition, whereas Manze and Biondi perform on historically correct instruments in a style informed by the recent historic scholarship. There are other modern violinists who don't use period instruments but whose performance is influenced in terms of phrasing, tempo, ornamentation, use of vibrato, etc., by the historic scholarship. That could include Ehnes, Hahn, Suwanai or Fischer on a given day. However, neither Ehnes nor Hahn nor Suwanai nor Fischer are HIP musicians.
 
Feb 5, 2009 at 9:43 PM Post #57 of 66
Time to update my Mozart violin concerto collection......

I have the old school Grumiaux/Phillips Duo
I have the HIP versions Standage/Lyre and Hugget/Virgin......waiting for Fabio Biondi to complete Virgin label set

Now I placed an order for these two:

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Anne-Sophie Mutter has really spread her wings and taken flight since her days with HVK, these samples sound great.
Looks like she conducts as well as performs, I am hoping these will be a hybrid blend of HIP/Classic styles with rich sound.

Giuliano Carmignola has really impressed me with his recent Vivaldi CDs, hopefully Abbado can hold up his end and give us a fresh hybrid style performance, exciting time for 75yr old Abbado as he is now back on top of game game adapting his style and producing fresh vital work

Any comments on these............
 
Feb 5, 2009 at 11:08 PM Post #58 of 66
I am going to snag that Mutter performance as well. I only have one performance of hers and I like it. Thanks for the tip!

My favorite concerto is #3 in G (KV 216) and I have a couple of performances with Perlman in Viena being my favorite. Maybe Ms. Mutter can change my mind.

Great thread peeps.
 
Feb 6, 2009 at 6:17 PM Post #59 of 66
Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkAngel /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Time to update my Mozart violin concerto collection......

I have the old school Grumiaux/Phillips Duo
I have the HIP versions Standage/Lyre and Hugget/Virgin......waiting for Fabio Biondi to complete Virgin label set

Now I placed an order for these two:

418G9PAD27L._SL500_AA240_.jpg
51Ck3WAt7IL._SL500_AA240_.jpg


Anne-Sophie Mutter has really spread her wings and taken flight since her days with HVK, these samples sound great.
Looks like she conducts as well as performs, I am hoping these will be a hybrid blend of HIP/Classic styles with rich sound.

Giuliano Carmignola has really impressed me with his recent Vivaldi CDs, hopefully Abbado can hold up his end and give us a fresh hybrid style performance, exciting time for 75yr old Abbado as he is now back on top of game game adapting his style and producing fresh vital work

Any comments on these............



Avoid the Symphonies (pictured below)!

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The only thing HIP about Mutter's Mozart are the tempos. She uses a modern violin, steel strings, and as much vibrato as she can manage. She is also front and center on these recordings, so while enjoyable, they are as far from HIP as you can get. This is really Mozart for the Masses: a lot of fun, but not that deep. Her concertos are a romp in a not quite accurate period costume, a soundtrack waiting for a movie. They would be a perfect backdrop for a Sofia Coppola style costume drama. Carmignola's recording on the other hand is very HIP -- gut strings, period violin and bows, and light, light, light on the vibrato.

If you want other HIP Mozart violin concertos, then you need at least 2 different recordings: the Andrew Manze (3-5) and the Fabio Biondi (1-3) recordings compliment each other very well, with little overlap. For the Sinfonia Concertante, you will need to look futher: L'Archibudelli recorded the Gran Sestetto (after the Sinfonia), but I can't recall another HIP recording of the Sinfonia aside from Carmignola's. Which brings us to the Carmignola/Abbado collaboration.

The Abbado/Carmignola, is aces and spades above Abbado's late Mozart Symphonies with the same orchestra. Clearly Carmignola must have had a lot of input into these because you couldn't find a greater contrast than these two Abbado recordings. The Carmignola collaboration is successful, whereas the pure Abbado recording is a mess. Mozart is almost bulletproof, but he's been severely wounded in this recording. As the Concertos with the same forces is so superior, I just have to believe that Abbado has gone out to make some HIP recordings for the money without really understanding what he needs to do; there's little to recommend with those symphonies. I was reluctant to take David Hurwitz's assessment at face value because he is very antipathetic to HIP instrument performance as well as being very negative about Abbado, however I came to the sad conclusion that perhaps his review may overrate (slightly) the quality of the recordings. The sound quality isn't the greatest either; not because it's poorly engineered, but because it cools down the drama of the symphonies which are also curiously lacking in any feeling of intimacy.

Edit: After going through the catalog of my cds, I found the Sinfonia Concertante done by Jurgen Kussmaul and the Amsterdam Baroque Players. It also features L'Archubelli members Vera Beths on violin and Anner Bijlsma on cello. I'm going to go through all the cds until I find it, so that I can compare it to the Carmignola. This will make for a very pleasant weekend.
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Feb 6, 2009 at 8:00 PM Post #60 of 66
Bunny
Thanks for the impressions.......

I also listened to that new CD with Abbado doing late Mozart symphonies but also did not think it was as good as the Violin concertos, so I just got the VC set.

I have so many new 2CD late Mozart symphony sets that are very good (MacKerras) that it must be very special to make the grade and extract money from the wallet
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I may still like the Mutter VC set despite the vibrato technique (HVK is smiling) since I already have many HIP violin concerto sets (Standage, Huggett) and am looking for some variety while still keeping a high performance standard

I do have the Biondi 1,2,3 VC on Virgin and have my eye on the new Mullova CD which I suspect is very good despite the strange cover picture.......
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(her fingers appear to be very long like ET from movie)

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