Lawrence Foster, Jean-Baptiste Accolay - Concertos From My Childhood / Perlman, Foster

Here is one of the greatest violinists of this or any other time playing student pieces ranging from elementary to virtuosic, so that budding violinists can hear what they sound like in a master player's hands. Let it be said at once that Perlman lavishes on them as much loving care and heartfelt expressiveness as on the staples of the literature, playing with his inimitably beautiful, golden tone, easy brilliance, stylistic flair, and captivating charm. He's clearly having a grand time. His fans will not be disappointed. The orchestrations, by unidentified arrangers, greatly enhance the music's effects; the student orchestra sounds thoroughly professional. The disc's educational value, however, is open to question, because the technical resources of students learning these pieces are worlds removed from Perlman's. For example, he uses full vibrato and dazzling speeds; he plays in first position, as written, only in the Rieding concerto; in the Seitz, he succumbs to his flair for virtuoso slides. The Bériot is stunning; the Viotti, the only "real" piece that turns up in concerts, including Perlman's own, sounds beautiful, but strangely uninvolved. Experienced teachers may well fear that listening to this disc could intimidate, frustrate, and discourage students rather than inspire them. So, enjoy it, but keep it away from the kids! --Edith Eisler Amazon.com

At last, student pieces played by a virtuoso

There's a lot of composers who wrote pieces especially suited for students. Many of those pieces are relatively "easy" to play, but are also very beautiful compositions. These pieces, and their composers, deserve to be discovered by a larger public. Thanks to Ytzhak Perlman.
I recommend this album to any violin student of any age.
Caroline Lapointe November 1, 2007

a very interesting cd

I thought about to purchse this cd when I daughter was playing most of the pieces few years ago, but I never did. However, I just bought it now and I found it is really worthy if you have a young player at home. Perlman recorded this cd to encourage young players to play violin with fun. I think he did a wonderful job! September 26, 2007

Breathtaking music!

Obtained this CD to hear "Scene de Ballet." Perlman never fails to deliver. The entire CD has wonderful pieces throughout that you will really enjoy! September 3, 2007

A must-buy for students learning any of these concertos!

Absolutely delighted with this buy! It is wonderful to have such a good recording by a maestro for student concertos. Although there is absolutely no way my son can play as well as Perlman, it is very helpful and important that he gets to listen to how beautiful the concertos can sound. February 28, 2007

Lovely for beginning students!

My students love listening to this recording and get lots of inspiration from it. Big thanks to Mr. Perlman for making this recording. November 6, 2006

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