Search - Miklos Rozsa, Dimity Yablonsky, Russian Philharmonic Orchestra :: Rozsa: Violin Concerto/ Sinfonia Concertante

Superb playing, exemplary composition

hh | West Hollywood, CA United States | 10/14/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This was a surprise to me. While I was familiar with Rosza's film scores, I had no idea that he was capable of such fine concert compositions. This muscular and inspired writing performed by a modernist with heady sensibilities and solid grounding in classic performance standards hands us an exhiliarating disc that satisifies on first and repeated listenings. Why is this not a standard at the LA Phil and in SF? Indulge and be amply rewarded."

Bids Fair to Replace the Old Heifetz Recording!

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 10/28/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've treasured my recording of Jascha Heifetz playing Miklós Rózsa's violin concerto for more years than I can remember, first on LP and later on CD. The concerto was, of course, written for Heifetz and he championed it assiduously. I believe that his recording with the Dallas Symphony conducted by Walter Hendl has never been out of print; it is considered a classic by violin connoisseurs. Unfortunately the recording, made in the 1950s, is in mono and although in very good sound for that era, it has long since begun to show its age. With all that I mind I began playing this new recording and was almost immediately thinking, 'My goodness, this is just as good as Heifetz!' And that impression remained. This concerto deserves to be better known. It is richly romantic, brilliantly orchestrated, and contains some of Rózsa's finest work. (For the curious, Rózsa reworked the concerto and it appears in a 1970 film, Billy Wilder's 'The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes'.)



Anastasia Khitruk, a name new to me, is a young Russian-born, American-trained violinist possessed of a fine technique and innate musicality. And not only has she recorded a very fine performance of the violin concerto, she has revived Rózsa's Sinfonia Concertante for Violin, Cello and Orchestra, Op. 29, and recorded it with another Russian-American musician, cellist Andrey Tchekmazov. For me this was a wonderful discovery. After several hearings I have decided that it is the equal of the violin concerto. Somewhat more spiky in places than the Violin Concerto, it is nonetheless in high romantic style, brilliantly constructed and orchestrated. I particularly like the middle movement, a theme and variations, which is then followed by a finale that brims with Hungarian brio. The two soloists play in perfect accord with each other, a wedding of similar styles and techniques. In my dreams I imagine these fine artists appearing in a concert doing the Rózsa and Brahms double concertos in tandem. Now THAT is a concert I'd go a long distance to hear!



Conductor Dmitry Yablonsky (himself a fine cellist) leads the Russian Philharmonic in sensitive, richly played and recorded performances. For me this is one of the better CDs of the year. Enthusiastically recommended.



Scott Morrison"

This is as good as it gets

C. K. Dexter Haven | 09/27/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Bartok in a Ball-gown! All the drama of Hollywood, plus Hungary, plus flaming virtuoso playing by a fiery young Russian. I play this full blast in my car while speeding down country lanes."