Tchaikovsky & Mendelssohn: Violin Concertos

The Tchaikovsky offers dazzling technical challenges and heart-on-sleeve emotional ups and downs. The Mendelssohn is Olympian, cool, beautifully formed--music that is immediately recognizable as the work of the composer who produced the magical Midsummer Night's Dream music. Jascha Heifetz is equally at home with Tchaikovsky's fervor and Mendelssohn's calm. --Joe McLellan Amazon.com

Jimi Hendrix of the classical violin

The electricity of this performance of these two violin concertos which are recorded by every violinist of note to establish their mettle must be heard to be believed. This recording is breath taking, and should make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. I believe this is the performance by which all the other recordings of these pieces should be judged. July 17, 2008

What most people say isn't always right.

This disc is only for the Heifetz devotees. Reviews written here are biased. If you have little knowlege about Heifetz, there's a great chance that you will be disappointed. Yes, tastes differ but this kind of interpretation is SURELY not for the majority. Too much ego...
Was he the greatest master of violin technique? Only in terms of articulation. He was a shredder. He could play faster than anyone else in his time. You can say that he's a Paganini of the 20th century. But is that a big deal in the 21st century? David Oistrakh had what he didn't; luscious tone, self-effacing playing, insight and love for the music. He was musicians' musician and a true servant of composers. I recommand his recordings over any Heifetz.
October 27, 2007

Cheer and Pleasure

Somehow Heifitz makes it all sound easy, relaxed, and well worth repeating. It is fun, sweet, exciting, sad, and loving. If you really love violin music, this is the best. June 8, 2007

Amazon's Classical music CD's

This CD was purchased as a Christmas gift from a friend, who was very specific about the recording he wanted. I held my breath, fearing it might not arrive in time ... but it did, beautifully. Thank you, Amazon! January 18, 2007

Virtuoso of virtuosos...

This disk features arguably the two greatest concertos ever written for the violin performed by the hands-down greatest violinist of the twentieth century and recorded in the absolute peak of his career. It really doesn't get much better than this for music lovers. If we all lived in a fair world, which we don't, performances on disks would be priced according to the amount of beauty and power it contains, not how recent it was released or supply-demand. Having said that, when it comes to these two recordings, 16 bucks doesn't seem like that great of a reach anymore.

I've listened to many recordings of both concertos, but out of Perlman, Milstein (second best), Stern, Oistrakh, Menuhin, and ect., Heifetz stands out on top in both. People will always say that the first movement of the Tchaikovsky is played too quickly, but I believe this is only so because no other violinist is ABLE to duplicate this kind of speed, hence Heifetz's recording being separated from the rest. I could certainly understand why a slower tempo is desired if the performer was tripping over the difficult passages and turning the movement into a mudslide, but that is certainly not the case with Maestro Heifetz; in fact, the opposite is true.

I believe Heifetz was a man who above all respected the composers. He also understood the art of "withholding". What do I mean? Here is a perfect example. In the first movement of the Mendelssohn, Heifetz has been infamously accused of playing the main theme using harmonics and flying through the movement with zero sentimentality. This demonstrates ignorance and a strong lack of respect on the modern generation. With the rise of 20th Century music (most of which Heifetz detested), appreciation for professionalism declined and indulgence in emotionalism became commonplace. Heifetz understood that there is no payoff, no climax to any piece of music, unless there is patience and sensitivity. After a slightly withheld first movement and a sweet second movement, Heifetz bursts open the doors in the third playing with more liveliness and accuracy than any other violinist can. The concerto climaxes towards the end when Heifetz passionately pounds through the main theme one last time then finishes with a flourish. This epiphany would not have been possible had he sentimentalized the whole concerto, as many violinists do nowadays.

As with most listeners, I often conjure up my own opinions on how certain concertos should be played based on my first hearing. After that first hearing, all others are labeled as inaccurate interpretations. I've found out through years of listening that there are only two musicians for which this does not apply: Heifetz and Rubinstein. Even if my first impression has already been set, it is they who play the concertos the way they were meant to be played. My advice on the Tchaikovsky and Mendelssohn is if you have nevered listen to these, listen to Heifetz first, after doing so, all other versions will pale in comparison. If you have already formed first impressions on how to interpret these concertos, give Heifetz a chance. I've found that just about every other violinist (save Milstein) seem to play with AWFUL intonation after listening to Heifetz. July 12, 2005

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