Search - Samuel Barber, Ernest Bloch, William [composer] Walton :: Barber, Walton, Bloch: Violin Concertos

For the love of God, buy this CD!

10/13/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The world is taking too long to discover how amazing Joshua Bell is. He deserves to be a household name the way Perlman and Stern are... er, used to be, anyways. Pitiful how underappreciated classical music is these days (there are folks in SF who, to this day, will say, "Michael Tilson WHO???). This is THE CD to have if you want to listen to the Barber or the Walton concertos. His rendition of the Barber is devastatingly beautiful and thrilling- if you aren't moved by the first movement at the very least, you need to check your pulse. On the Baal Shem suite, Bell's violin playing is simply magical. He truly sings from his soul on these three movements. I'll eat my hat if I ever find another recording of "Simchas Torah" that's as delightful to listen to as his. On the Walton concerto, Bell's virtuosic skill and sweet lyricism are put to good use, making for some truly enjoyable listening. The third movement is a smashing delight to listen to, and for some reason reminds me of how badly I want to hear him play Shostakovich's violin concertos. Of course this CD gets five stars. Now, will Yo-Yo Ma please take a brief hiatus from recording so Joshua Bell can get the Grammy that he deserves?"

Buy this Barber, not Hillary Hahn's

Ben Fox | Oberlin, OH USA | 01/02/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In response to the multitude of reviews on this website promoting Hillary Hahn's recording of the Barber Violin Concerto over Joshua Bell's performance, I'd like to offer a contrasting review.
I must admit I have only listened repeatedly to the Barber on both of the aforementioned discs (having only heard the rest of the CDs maybe once). Although some reviewers have said they listened to the Bell recording until they bought Hahn's CD, I would propose you go back and listen to Joshua Bell. Whereas Hillary Hahn does a splendid job, technically perfect and quite musical, her interpretation is very cut-and-dry and not very adventurous. Simply put, Joshua Bell's performance is more personal. Not to suggest his rendition isn't technically and otherwise emaculate, but he offers something more. There are aspects of Bell's performance that are probably not written on Barber's music (you can tell because they don't exist on Hahn's recording). Things like rubato and slides are very human and don't come through clearly enough in Hillary Hahn's relatively machine-like rendition. In contrast, Bell's playing is far more like singing than hacking away at a violin. Were Barber alive today, he'd probably want to listen to Joshua Bell.
In short, if you want a comparatively bland introduction to Barber's Violin Concerto, go buy Hillary Hahn. If you're looking for something that will move you, you must buy Joshua Bell every time."

The most beautiful recording of the Barber.

jpark1912@aol.com | Atlanta, GA | 12/11/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Although I have been Bell's fan for years, this recording truly marked him as a marvel of lyricism and technique. The very difficult moto perpetuo like 3rd mvmt, which some called unreadable, was the weakest of the Barber, but the straining beauty of the 1st and 2nd mvmts were too great to criticize anymore of that concerto. Bell did a great job in Baal-Shem of distinguishing each mvmts characteristics. The very difficult and beautiful Walton concerto was played well with the Baltimore Symphony. I was so dissapointed to hear Perlman's recording of the Barber. Perlman was a little too forceful to carry to melodic violin line but his 3rd mvmt was better. I also thought that Joshua Bell should have won the Grammy this year. Better luck next year with the Gershwin Fantasy, I guess."