Bach: works for solo violin

[David-G]

Isabelle Faust (Harmonia Mundi) has been very well received, including making it on the CD Review 'discs of the year' show yesterday. I'm not sure if she is HIP or not.

We were told that she plays with a baroque bow but on steel strings.

I heard the Faust recording playing in a record shop, and was deeply impressed with it; I discovered only later who the artist was.

[Barbirollians]

Ida Haendel on Testament !

Julia Fischer is also very fine as is the young Menuhin.

[Thropplenoggin]

I've been trying out three new (well, one new, two new to me) versions of this work, still not having found THE one that really opens up the work for me, like Pierre Fournier did for the Cello Suites.

The contenders:

Christine Busch, new on PHI, Philiippe Herreweghe's label:



Sergey Khachatryan (Naïve)



Amandine Beyer (ZigZag)



Results thus far:

1. Khachatryan - this one really has me gripped, like a hand round the throat. Is this Bach? He makes it sound so emotional, so dramatic, like life and death. So many interpretations sound like 'going through the motions', a disinterested recital, in comparison. Even the breathing and modest vibrato don't distract from the wonderment, even adding to the tension. Perhaps a case of DO believe the hype?
2. Busch - a generally lovely tone, exquisitely recorded, little in the way of intrusion from fingers or breathing, but not quite as powerful a reading as SK.
3. Beyer - a very astringent tone, overly harsh to these ears.

[Richard Tarleton]

Thanks Taps, Roehre, for putting it so beautifully....I have Milstein, Suk, Mullova (2009) for the violin - where to start? Depends what mood I'm in. A live experience that sticks in the mind - the D Min performed by Vengerov in the Barbican.

Tortelier, Starker, ter Linden on my shelves, but I admire many more and never miss an opportunity to listen to these sublime works live.

[umslopogaas]

The Unaccompanied Sonatas and Partitas? Try Arthur Grumiaux on three Philips LPs. Second label, alas, but still very collectible. Phew, this is serious stuff.

[Richard Tarleton]

My Suk is on LPs - not sure if it ever made it to CD....

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

We were told that she plays with a baroque bow but on steel strings.

I heard the Faust recording playing in a record shop, and was deeply impressed with it; I discovered only later who the artist was.

... Ms Faust's cds are constantly played in the mornings on my bedroom cd kit .... words fail

John Holloway playing the Biber Rosary Sonatas had that slot in life some years back ...

[Thropplenoggin]

... Ms Faust's cds are constantly played in the mornings on my bedroom cd kit .... words fail

John Holloway playing the Biber Rosary Sonatas had that slot in life some years back ...

But this guy's got soul, man! I've never heard Bach like this...I expect the purists will hate it, and normally I'd count myself among them, but this...this is so intense, so revelatory...it reminds me of discovering what Fournier dug out of the Cello Suites. MNP (My Next Purchase)

p.s. I'm with you on Holloway and Biber

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

The Unaccompanied Sonatas and Partitas? Try Arthur Grumiaux on three Philips LPs. Second label, alas, but still very collectible. Phew, this is serious stuff.

Oh; that's a good suggestion - especially for someone who admires the Fournier 'cello recordings. Not too pricey, either:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00000417N/ref=dm_dp_cdp?ie=UTF8&qid=1361485461&s=music&sr=8-2-spell

Some youTube samples:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nRYHw-ZMG8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xuDQBB24UM

[aka Calum Da Jazbo]

he may well possess soul, i will investigate .... but do not expect an early renunciation of the divine Ms Faust

[Thropplenoggin]

Oh; that's a good suggestion - especially for someone who admires the Fournier 'cello recordings. Not too pricey, either:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00000417N/ref=dm_dp_cdp?ie=UTF8&qid=1361485461&s=music&sr=8-2-spell

Some youTube samples:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nRYHw-ZMG8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xuDQBB24UM

Thanks, FHG and Um. I'll give it a go.

But you should also check out the young Armenian above...

[Barbirollians]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjBUSdIbS7Q&playnext=1&list=PL6210F05054E6BF94&feature=results_video

Complete with dog !

Ida Haendel did a deal with Testament whereby they released her old stuff and she got to record the complete Sonatas and partitas in 1996 - they are wonderful performances .

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

My Suk is on LPs - not sure if it ever made it to CD....

It did, and can still be obtained ... at a price!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00002ZZ5A/ref=dm_dp_cdp?ie=UTF8&qid=1361486808&s=music&sr=8-28

[Julien Sorel]

Amandine Beyer (Zig-Zag Territoires)

https://outhere-music.com/store-ZZT_110902

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZEBGRh59H0

[Nachtigall]

But this guy's got soul, man! I've never heard Bach like this...I expect the purists will hate it, and normally I'd count myself among them, but this...this is so intense, so revelatory...it reminds me of discovering what Fournier dug out of the Cello Suites. MNP (My Next Purchase)

Glad you've found your way to Khachatryan, Thropplenoggin, and I agree with everything you say.

Actually, Khachatryan can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned – ever since I heard him give a stunning performance of the Shostakovich Violin Concerto 1 at the Proms in 2005. I've heard him play it again at the RFH and also the Berg and Tchaikovsky concertos live. I've also chatted to him and got him to sign my copy of the Bach recording. A most amiable and gifted young man.