Search - Niccolo Paganini :: Paganini: 24 Caprices

O.K.

Rogue Lady | Southern Oregon | 03/25/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was fully excited for this recording when it came, and it measures up. The sound quality is terrific, and Rabin is stunning. However, I only say okay because while it is obvious that this man was an incredible violinist, the performance is not clean. When there are repeats, he repeats yes, but takes the first repeat as though it were the second time, seriously tearing the phrasing of the piece. His string crossings are not clean, you can clearly hear open strings, and his fifths are often out of tune. Even more annoyingly on this cd is the fact that some of the caprices are sharp because the recording is old.



The recording also lacks rhythmic integrity. For example, in caprice. For example, in the 10th Caprice, every single four-note, rolled chord is dragged out much longer than the value of an 8th, and then the martellato slurred sixteenths are played much too fast to compensate for this unwritten firmata over the chord. This causes a very uneven rhythm and literally steals the feeling of danse from this movement.



Conversely, this cd is still a must have for many reasons. Many things that would be near impossible to other players, Rabin handles with technical ease. The presto slurred upbow staccato notes in caprice no. 21 are executed with perfection and surprisingly still maintain rhythmic integrity. Rabin's staccato bowing continues to amaze me like in no.5. That caprice is also perfect. It is a shame because i think he really put time into the ones like no. 5 and no. 21. If he had done that with the entire set of caprices, he probably would have done a much better job.



Just another quick note: you won't find a better performance of the 24th anywhere....ANYWHERE. perfect. again. the hard work he did on a few of the caprices shines.



I hope this was helpful."

Michael Rabin was to violin what Kapell to piano

Hiram Gomez Pardo | Valencia, Venezuela | 05/22/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The early death (36)of Michael Rabin left orphan the musical world.
Rabin faced the challenge that these 24 caprices demand in every violinist and signed a comittment with the inmortality.
These caprices has everything you expect; fierce, lyrics , histamina, tension, skillness and musicality.
No other violinist in the story has reached the height that Rabin did it with this performances.
Buy this CD and you'll check by yourself this statement. I garantee you."

Legendary performances.

D. R. Schryer | Poquoson, VA United States | 08/18/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Although Jascha Heifetz was the most acclaimed violinist of the 20th century, Michael Rabin was fully his equal technically but far superior artistically. In fact, Rabin was equal to, or better than, every violinist of whom we have recordings. Unfortunately, Rabin died in his mid thirties and left relatively few recordings, but his recording of the Paganini Caprices is still regarded as a standard against which all other performances of these works are compared. If you've never heard this outstanding violinist this CD will show you why decades after his premature death Michael Rabin is still regarded as a legendary violinist."