Mendelssohn, Beethoven: Violin Concertos

"Bell's readings of both works are strong and distinctive." --Gramophone

"There are performances of great concertos that leave you admiring the soloist, and others that leave you admiring the composer. The ideal should be a mixture of both, which makes Joshua Bell’s Beethoven close to ideal and his Mendelssohn even closer." --BBC Music Magazine

Joshua Bell's fresh approach to these violin warhorses makes for an unexpectedly inviting listening experience. In the Mendelssohn he marries his bright tone to forthright phrasing in a manner that communicates the music's emotion without sliding into the gooey sweetness heard in some interpretations. There's little if anything hackneyed about Bell's reading, indicating he's thought about the work anew, right through to the stylistically appropriate cadenza he composed himself (Bell cites research that suggests Mendelssohn's friend Ferdinand David may have actually composed the original cadenza). Roger Norrington's crisp, period-informed style, with its pointed accents and propulsive energy easily fits in with Bell's conception.

Bell's Beethoven is of a similar stripe. There's a youthful whimsy to his reading, although it's tempered by an awareness of the work's graceful majesty. Again, Bell supplies a cadenza of his own devising, which cleverly makes references to the Moonlight Sonata before carrying on in the discursive manner of Beethoven's late string quartets. Norrington accompanies in the aggressive Beethoven style familiar from his symphony recordings. Sony's recording slightly favors the soloist, but not to an unnatural degree as orchestral detail can be heard clearly, even in the soft passages. The CD booklet notes are evidently aimed at the newcomer to these works, and Bell's performances do make for fine introductions. But seasoned listeners can enjoy them as well for their unique insights--a rare occurrence in today's glutted CD catalog. --Victor Carr Jr, ClassicsToday.com

MP3 320 · 151 MB

Beethoven · Briten: Violin Concertos

“Janine Jansen has a rare ability to communicate her thought and feelings about the music while appearing to play in a simple, straightforward manner. The small variations of colour, pressure and emphasis that bring this about transmit a sensation of intense inner life. Whereas others may bring a warmer, more sensuous tone to the Beethoven Concerto... this account turns out to be as absorbing and satisfying as any recent recording.

The Britten is very well recorded, too. ...Jansen shows the work's more uncomfortable, angular side. The irregular rhythms and sharp contrasts of the central Vivace are... sharply delineated and, towards the end of the concluding Passacaglia, Jansen builds to a painful degree of intensity and desperation.” --The Gramophone

“I was completely won over… by Jansen's Britten. Passionately intense in the opening movement, suitably malevolent throughout the Prokofiev-inspired Scherzo and heart-achingly poignant in the closing bars of the Passacaglia…” --BBC Music Magazine

“Thanks to this brilliant recording, Britten’s concerto emerges with its stature much enhanced...[Jansen] rises to its technical challenges, conveys its passionate intensity without exaggeration and plumbs its moods of innocence, restlessness and despair.” --Financial Times ***

“Her playing is sensationally good, in the Romantic tradition, and she proves an intense, impassioned advocate for Britten’s still neglected work.” --The Sunday Times ****

MP3 320 · 161 MB  bmc0112

Beethoven: Triple Concerto · Schumann: Piano Concerto

"In the Triple Concerto, Argerich confirms her status among the great chamber-music players, responding to her partners with exemplary tact and verve." --Gramophone

"A breath-taking and addictive live performance." --BBC Music Magazine

Martha Argerich's caution in committing new items from her once extensive repertoire to disc is proverbial. So a warm welcome to her first recording of Beethoven's Triple Concerto where, with her esteemed colleagues Renaud Capuçon and Mischa Maisky, she relinquishes all sense of stardom and does what comes naturally; namely performing music with her friends and allowing the microphones to eavesdrop, as it were, on her unalloyed happiness. Renewing her love for Beethoven (the Third Concerto will hopefully follow and there is even a promise of an Emperor Concerto later this year in Japan) Argerich confirms her status among the great chamber-music players, responding to her partners with exemplary tact and verve. Listen to the sense of interplay at 945', to Argerich's reply to Maisky's eloquence in the central Largo, or to the almost comic relish at 450" of the finale's bustling and ceremonious Polonaise, and you will be aware of musicmaking caught on the wing and filled with an unselfconscious delight and enjoyment.

The performance of the Schumann (Argerich's third on disc) is so vital and assertive that you are stunned and gratified by her ability to recreate music she has performed countless times with the white heat of first love. The opening is launched with a wild thrust and, throughout, there are innumerable little spur-of-the moment details and asides, a quick drawing of attention to this or that felicity.

Of course, such playing is a personal taste and you would never confuse Argerich for a moment with regal Myra Hess or sober-suited Pollini in this music but, again, she carries all before her, allowing her playing to pulse with a nervous vitality that trumps even her own previous performances. She is skilfully partnered by Alexandre Rabinovitch-Barakovsky, a pianist and conductor who somehow holds the reins of his fiery and unpredictable steed. -- Bryce Morrison, Gramophone [9/2004]

MP3 320 · 148 MB   bmc0112