Search - Sergey Prokofiev, Bela Bartok, Zubin Mehta :: A Life In Music: Isaac Stern, Volume 10

Variable in technique, but great musicianship throughout

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 02/05/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"There's ample precedent for great violinists whose technique declined later in life but who remained masterful musicians--Szigeti and Menuhin come to mind. Stern wasn't technically near his best when he recorded the two Prokofiev Concertos with Mehta, but he's so full of vigor, warmth, and insight that I couldn't tear myself away. If you are picky about flawless intonation this CD isn't for you, but compared to late Menuhin, nothing that Stern does causes a wince. In spirit the interpretations are witty, lively, and somewhat rambunctious; these qualities are most welcome in comparison to the sterile correctness of many contemporary violinists. You know you're in MOther Russian here, not a NY music school for child prodigies.



Even more so ae we swept to Hungary for the two Bartok Rhapsodies with Bernstein. I had thought that the version recorded by Gil Shaham with Boulez on DG were very good, but they are bloodless compared to what we have here, gypsy fiddling at its most soulful as filtered through Bartok's modernist sensibility. Great cembalon, too, miked up close.



In all, one of Stern's most gratifying and exciting records.



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