BaL 13.10.18 - Franck: Violin Sonata in A

[mikealdren]

Oh dear, the American reviewer, why does he talk about "Star violinist Joshua Bell", is he more of a star than Kogan, Mutter, Perlman et al? He may be a star in the USA but he isn't in their class as a violinist.

[BBMmk2]

Oh dear, the American reviewer, why does he talk about "Star violinist Joshua Bell", is he more of a star than Kogan, Mutter, Perlman et al? He may be a star in the USA but he isn't in their class as a violinist.

I’m surprised that he was chosen, really. A failed violinist, his words! A specific musician as well!

A very detailed review today. Ok I like the recording chosen, but I’ll sticj with the ones I have that he didn’t! Isabelle Faust, Tasmin Little and Jennifer Pike.

[mikealdren]

He did play Isabelle Faust and discussed it at some length...................?

[underthecountertenor]

Oh dear, the American reviewer, why does he talk about "Star violinist Joshua Bell", is he more of a star than Kogan, Mutter, Perlman et al? He may be a star in the USA but he isn't in their class as a violinist.

Oh dear. It was pretty obvious to me in the context that when the *Iranian*-American reviewer used the word ‘star’ he was deliberately pointing up a contrast between today’s ‘stars’ (in the promotional sense) and those who have real class.

[underthecountertenor]

I’m surprised that he was chosen, really. A failed violinist, his words! A specific musician as well.

But someone with a deep knowledge, and love, of Franck, and who knows a great deal about violin technique. An obvious choice, therefore, I’d have thought. And a model BaL.

[DracoM]

Well, NONE of those perfs came close to the one at our festival with Tasmin Little and Martin Roscoe. It's got to be heard live.

[ardcarp]

who knows a great deal about violin technique

Indeed; he seemed to be able to divine 'wrist action' from a mere hearing. Maybe he can. I'm personally always intrigued by what I can hear, namely the change in vibrato style over the decades; and that faster 'fluttering' style of the 40s did not, quite rightly, affect his preferences.

I'm sure he used the word 'star violinist' with just a touch of irony, as underrthecounter suggests?

[mikealdren]

The irony wasn't pointed enough for me to spot it, mea culpa. Probably not helped by my general dislike of Bell's playing.

Yes, it was an interesting review and I agreed with his reasoning. Shame there were Kogan and Heifetz but no Oistrakh.

[vinteuil]

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... I enjoyed this a lot. I was particularly taken by the Taschner/Giesking, which I think I'll want to get -

http://amzn.eu/d/9mHOPYL

There were lots of attractive performances - it is a work that can carry a wide range of 'interpretations'.

Many thanks to Gurnemanz : on the strength of his #10 I have obtained the David Oistrakh / Sviatoslav Richter - just wonderful -

http://amzn.eu/d/d3nyAw8

(currently available cheaply on amazon.de ... )

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[Stanfordian]

Oh dear, the American reviewer, why does he talk about "Star violinist Joshua Bell", is he more of a star than Kogan, Mutter, Perlman et al? He may be a star in the USA but he isn't in their class as a violinist.

Joshua Bell was one of the most disappointing solo violinists I have seen in concert and I've seen him three times.

[underthecountertenor]

Joshua Bell was one of the most disappointing solo violinists I have seen in concert and I've seen him three times.

...and you kept on being disappointed?

[underthecountertenor]

Well, NONE of those perfs came close to the one at our festival with Tasmin Little and Martin Roscoe. It's got to be heard live.

Not sure where to start with this. But here goes:
(1) Apples and pears, because you didn’t hear any of the recordings complete, so you can’t compare the overall effect of, say, the complete Dumay recording with Little/Roscoe
(2) A good live performance is always going to have a special place in one’s memory, which may mean that no recording ‘comes close’, even if, objectively, one or two might well in fact have been better
(3) When you say ‘it’s got to be heard live,’ are you referring specifically to the Franck? If so, why this work in particular? Generally speaking it’s good to hear works in concert (even though it means putting up with imperfections and other people), but the recording industry has been built around a desire to hear, and preserve, the work of musicians whom one might otherwise never have heard.
In short, Little and Roscoe are excellent musicians, and I’m sure they performed wonderfully at your festival, but to say that NONE of the recordings demonstrated by Esfahani CAME CLOSE to them smacks of special pleading.

[Stanfordian]

...and you kept on being disappointed?

There is no need to take the pi**. I was there on each occasion as I was asked to go, undertaking reporting duties in an area of the country I then covered!

[underthecountertenor]

There is no need to take the pi**. I was there on each occasion as I was asked to go, undertaking reporting duties in an area of the country I then covered!

Sorry, I didn’t mean to take the p**s: I just meant that presumably after the first experience you surely could no longer have been disappointed, as your expectations had by then been well and truly managed!

[Barbirollians]

I remember seeing him in Sheffield playing the Brahms concerto at the time he first became a big name.

Technically very proficient but it left me cold.