Search - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Yehudi Menuhin, Bath Festival Orchestra :: Mozart: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 - 5; Sinfonia Concertante

Mozart

Mom of a Princess | Utah | 10/07/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I originally bought this for my college age daughter for her music class. The sound quality is great and the selection of pieces gives a good sense of Mozart."

Enriching

David Saemann | 12/01/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am disappointed that the price of this set is now so high. When I bought it new in the 90's, I paid $5.99 for it. Nevertheless, it's one of the more interesting sets of the Mozart Violin Concertos. The sound engineering is very good, best of all in the more recent recordings of Nos. 1 and 2. Menuhin's playing is very Romantic. He uses a lot of vibrato, and throughout he plays very expressively. His technique is a little shopworn, occasionally resulting in some rough passage work. Nevertheless, he displays a unique sound from a time when fiddlers were supposed to sound unique. His orchestra plays very well, comparably to another fine soloist-led set of the concertos by Iona Brown. Despite the Romanticism of his playing, Menuhin's tempos are very moderate and nothing drags. His cadenzas, for all the solo concertos except No. 3, are quite stylish and interesting. The best performance here, though, is the Sinfonia Concertante. Barshai plays very well, and Menuhin's playing takes on a sparkle that reminds us of what a fine collaborator he was. The first movement is a true maestoso, a little slower that we are used to hearing but quite grand and eloquent. I have quite a few sets of the Mozart Violin Conertos (Sitkovetsky, Edinger, Perlman, Frank, Tetzlaff), but this set has a niche all its own."