Oh dear. I'm alliterating my way through the whole gamut of instruments....many not repeatable on here..... 
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Ironically for me that this programme was fronted by a violinist, who though a lovely girl, I'm sure, doesn't quite cut the mustard as a soloist for me.
I last heard/saw her playing the Korngold Violin concerto and a bit lifeless and scratchy it was as well. Her performances never seem to thrill, for me but I suppose she's successful at her own level whatever that might be.Comment
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Agreed 100%. Very far from cutting it for me, based on a couple of experiences I have no intention of repeating.Originally posted by marvin View Post
"...the isle is full of noises,
Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices..."
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Well - I'm not a fan, either; but DON isn't exactly a mustard-cutter himself, but his experience as a pianist at least enabled him to move the mustard from the kitchen onto the dining table. Ms Benedetti - apart from the demonstration of the Paganini techniques - merely brought ketchup.Originally posted by Caliban View Post[FONT=Comic Sans MS][I][B]Numquam Satis![/B][/I][/FONT]Comment
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Somehow I suspect that there'd have been a vast range of condiments had her friend Alina fronted the programme instead...Originally posted by ferneyhoughgeliebte View PostComment
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That's a bit harsh. DON, a very capable pianist if not in the top echelon, presented the piano programme very well, I thought. NB by comparison is higher up the echelons of violinists, so my slight disappointment over the violin programme was partly to do with presentation. She could, for instance, have mentioned or even illustrated more aspects of violin technique to a 'grown-up' audience.Ironically for me that this programme was fronted by a violinist, who though a lovely girl, I'm sure, doesn't quite cut the mustard as a soloist for me.Last edited by ardcarp; 13-03-16, 10:34.Comment
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That thought had occurred to me, too.Originally posted by ahinton View Post[FONT=Comic Sans MS][I][B]Numquam Satis![/B][/I][/FONT]Comment
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I'm thick perhaps but who is DON?Comment
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David Owen Norris, who presented the "Perfect Pianists at the BBC" in the "Virtuoso Violinist" slot the previous Friday.Originally posted by marvin View Post
Still available on i-Player, and well worth watching in its owen right, as well as showing how the "Violinists" might have been done:
PS: Not "thick" at all - "DON" is just Forum shorthand; anyone who's not been involved in discussions here couldn't possibly know what the initials meant.[FONT=Comic Sans MS][I][B]Numquam Satis![/B][/I][/FONT]Comment
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Yes, of course, thanks. Did see that programme but forgot who had introduced it.Originally posted by ferneyhoughgeliebte View PostDavid Owen Norris, who presented the "Perfect Pianists at the BBC" in the "Virtuoso Violinist" slot the previous Friday.
Still available on i-Player, and well worth watching in its owen right, as well as showing how the "Violinists" might have been done:
PS: Not "thick" at all - "DON" is just Forum shorthand; anyone who's not been involved in discussions here couldn't possibly know what the initials meant.Comment
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Saucy!Originally posted by ahinton View Post"...the isle is full of noises,
Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices..."
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And what about Giuliano Carmignola. I had previously only noted him as Abbado's choice with the Orchestra Mozart. However, on the basis of Friday's showing I have ordered his complete Sony recordings box:
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I was listening earlier on to his Bach concertos with Concerto Köln - the canonical three plus BWV 1052 and 1056. Maybe not as impressive as his Vivaldi but excellent anyway. There's also a Haydn disc that should be worth investigating.Comment
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Yes a very strange programme, odd choice of soloists, odd repertoire and unenlightening commentary. Compared with DON's excellent selection, this was quite perverse at times, was it her choice and script? DON had a few left field items but they were all well chosen and fully justified their inclusion.
Quite why we had so much Kennedy is beyond me, he's a a nice chap and a good player but surely not great and definitely not in the same league as most of the others. Would he really like to be represented by that version of the 4 seasons, wouldn't some Elgar have been a better choice.
Similarly, Szerying was a very fine player, I heard him several times and the unsmiling performance of the Kreisler did not do him justice. Perhaps it's personal taste but for me he wasn't a truly great player.
I don't really agree about the Menuhin either, it was all to technically tense for me, does the BBC not have recordings of him in his prime? Perhaps Ms Benedetti remembers that particular performance but I'd rather forget it.
Milstein played immaculately of course but dreadful sound quality. Which brings me on to a hobby horse, the camerawork and editing. The early examples were excellent, long steady shots to allow us to enjoy the music. By the time it reached Vengerov it had become a joke. In and out of focus, shots from all angles and usually the wrong one for the music, terrible!
There were some high points, Carmignola was an interesting, imaginative choice and Oistrakh was stunning in the Brahms. Sadly the Bach double was not good, two ill matched players, poor recording and very dated stylistically as was Stern's Mozart.
Finally as other have said, the players who were missing. We can see current players easily so I'll look back. Ida Haendel, long a BBC favourite was an amazing ommision and Heifetz was extraordinary. I would have liked to see Grumiaux and Campoli then how about a few more unusual players, Szigeti perhaps or Hubermann, Busch, Rabin, Gitlis or Francescatti. Obviously no film of Kreisler but does the Beeb have any film of Sammons?Comment
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