|
Elgar: Violin Concerto; Serenade for Strings | 
 enlarge
| Creators: Edward Elgar, Andrew Davis, Philharmonia Orchestra Of London, James Ehnes
Label: Onyx Classics UK
Category: Music
List Price: $24.98
Buy New: $15.58
You Save: $9.40 (38%)
New (15) Used (3) from $13.43
Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 20274
Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 4025
UPC: 880040402527
EAN: 0880040402527
ASIN: B000WE5GM6
Release Date: January 8, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| |
| Tracks:
| • | 1. Allegro | | • | 2. Andante | | • | 3. Allegro molto | | • | 1. Allegro piacevole | | • | 2. Larghetto | | • | 3. Allegretto |
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Customer Reviews:
 A fresh, accomplished version, but no more September 8, 2008
Santa Fe listener
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Pace the raves from the Elgar Society cited above, and the one from a reviewer in Fanfare, I don't think James Ehnes's new recording of the Elgar concerto rises to the top rank. He is recorded close up to give him prominence, but he sitll seems to possess a small sound that gets smaller when he has to play fast passagework, and thus Elgar's soaring eloquence is missed in favor of quicksilver lightness.
Nor is Adnrew Davis really in Elgar's world of high-minded earnestness. The Violin Concerto represents the composer at his most serious but also his most loquaious, and to keep the work from meandering, the soloist must tell us a compelling story. Nigel Kennedy is a past master at this, and both of his recordings on EMI, early and late in his career, must be heard to catch the wealth of possibilities in this work. The present CD is better than good but offers no serious competition.
P.S. - In fairness, this CD was cited by the Gramophone as one of 2008's outstanding concerto recordings.
 Don't miss it! April 18, 2008
Jeff Dunn (Alameda, California United States)
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
I was reading rave reviews of this release in the Elgar Society journal, and had to try it out, despite my many other recordings of this masterwork. Surprisingly, the hype across the ocean was justified: Only the Menuhin performance conducted by Elgar himself exceeds this interpretation, which is on a par with Kennedy's, and better than Perlman's.
Ehnes's rendition is virtuosic without being flamboyant. I was amazed that such a smooth sound quality could be conveyed without compromizing passion. Conductor Andrew Davis is to be congratulated as well for his (at last!) superb grasp of Elgarian rubato and tempo choices. The engineering is excellent as well as the coupling.
The second movement is the greatest triumph of this disc, but the third is also exceptional. Only the first movement, while excellent, pales slightly in comparison to the Menuhin/Elgar. For an alternative, although currently unavailable, the Russian(!) peformance by Igor Oistrakh and the Moscow Symphony is worth obtaining for its no-holds-barred approach to the music.
|
|
|
Used CDs | |
