If I Could Choose Only 1 Recording By...NATHAN MILSTEIN
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- čas přidán 6. 07. 2024
- It would have to be...Bach: Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin
Because Milstein's interpretations (on both DG or EMI/Warner) remain reference versions for one of the most iconic monuments of instrumental music. - Hudba
Milstein has been my favorite violinist since my late teens. So in my mind there is nothing he didn't do better than anyone else. But I think there is no one who touches him in the Beethoven Kreutzer Sonata; he played it with such reckless abandon, the pathos just oozes. Another specialty: the Goldmark concerto; that, the Dvořák, the Glazunov, and so many other great, Romantic works, stand as benchmarks of perfection in performance conventions.
I heard Milstein play several of these pieces in a concert at Berkeley in 1984. One of the highlights of my listening life.
Milstein was exquisite, I totally agree. His 1963 live Saint-Saëns Violin Concerto 3 with Fistoulari and the Philharmonia is one of my favorites, and a fine example of his artistry on the instrument.
I share your enthusiasm for Milstein's Saint-Saëns 3rd/Chausson Poème recording. It and the DG Bach Sonatas and Partitas were among the first LPs I acquired.
A performance of the Beethoven concerto shortly before his career ending fall remains one of my most treasured concert memories.
I saw Milstein live in Milwaukee in the early '80s when I was in college. I still have the concert program and need to dig it out. I think he was doing the Tchaikovsky but I have to verify.
It's a fabulous, sensuous, swashbuckling recording and my first intro to Milstein. I wish EMI would reissue the Prokofiev concertos again.
Love these recordings by Milstein. ❤
I completely agree with the critical need for a comprehensive Milstein box from Warner. We also need one for Francescatti from Sony.
Francescatti for some reason not much talked about despite a fab sound (the only one I think I’d recognize in a blind listening) and some of the outstanding recordings of the standard repertoire: Beethoven VC with Walter, Brahms Double with Fournier, Walter; Mendelssohn VC under Szell is stupendous. Isabelle Faust claimed that his recording of Mozart 3, 4 made her decide to become a violinist. There’s a fabulous Brahms under Bour and of course the Beethoven sonatas with Gieseking.
@@tommynielsen7163 Francescatti recorded Beethoven's Sonatas with...Gieseking?? Are you sure?? 😮
Fully agree! But I’m also a big fan of his Prokofiev violin concertos for EMI…they are so nostalgic! And nostalgia is a feature of Prokofiev music that I look for every time I listen to it!
Another great Bach set from the same era was the EMI from Josef Suk - completely forgotten, alas- and I marginally preferred it to the Milstein because Suk wasn't quite so silky - the tougher tone somehow suited the music...but Milstein is astonishing, without doubt!
I also like Suk's performance. Very elegant playing.
I just bought the Suk version on old vinyl, on a whim. It was one of those Australian World Record Club pressings that turns out to be from exactly the same metals as the UK originals. It is an absolutely amazing set, a rival to the Grumiaux that I have always had on CD; and it sounds excellent too.
Thanks for this review I have Arthur Grumiaux's set which is my reference, but I will get the Milstein as it sounds wonderful too. I love all of the six works, but the one on my desert island 10 works list is the D minor partiata. The Chaconne is as phenominal a piece of music as anything Beethoven or Schubert wrote. Bach its seems to me, picks up two sticks and then proceeds to build a great cathedral. I cannot get through this piece of music dry eyed. Thank you for all your reviews and insights and for you warm and humorous presentations! As a related aside, as a freshman in high school, 1960 or so, I was sent to the principal's office. The principal informed me that he had heard from one of my friends that I listened to Radio Moscow on short wave, which I did. He scolded me for it and demanded that I quit listening to it then asked "Why on earth would you want to listen to all that Communist propaganda?" I said I don't listen to the propaganda but they play wonderful music, they play Oistrakh, Richter and Gilels!. He squinted at me, made a puzzled face, said he was reporting this to my mother, who of course already knew of my short wave habits and loved Oistrakh, though her favorite whom she heard live doing the Bach Sonatas and Partitas was Isaac Stern. My father was also informed of my delinquency, and replied to the principal that he had not heard Oistrakh but liked preferred Heifitz on the Brahms and Tchaikovsky concertos. The principal, not knowing who any of these people were, gave up on the issue.
Because of his Bach and astoundingly creamy tone, I took a chance on the Berg concerto, a composer I did not know. It was a revelatory experience.
Milstein recorded the Berg??
@@alanwittert2169 I think I miss remembered. It was Grumiaux. I’ve long since disposed of my vinyl
This choice is a "no-brainer". When your video showed up in my feed, all I could read was the title, and the Bach Sonatas and Partitas immediately came to mind. Also, I'm glad you included the early EMI recordings, which were issued in the US on Capitol LPs.
One really should own both.
Oh...also, my first recording of the Tchaikovsky (which you mentioned in passing) was Milstein, and yes....it's quite lovely. In fact, if I were to recommend only one recording of that work, it would be Milstein.
For Milstein, I’d take his Mendelssohn violin concerto. It always brings me to tears.
ABSOLUTELY TRUE!!! He was amazing...thank you so much!!!
Nice one, Dave. That set was one of my first purchases in the late '80s as I began listening to and collecting classical music. I was confused by the music's complexity but utterly dumbfounded how Milstein made one instrument sound like several. I'd never heard anything like it. I put it on the shelf until enough of Bach had soaked in that the music became less confusing. I remember one xmas and friends were arriving to visit, I lived on the fifth floor of a building that had a great open stairwell. As my friends entered the building on the ground floor I had this recording of the chaconne playing at volume. A wonderful start to a memorable festive time. And an artist I had immense respect for since first hearing those double and triple stops. The Christoper Nupen documentary is worth everyone's attention.
Thank you for putting the spotlight on the great Nathan Milstein, a most humble and self effacing artist. Thought his technique was only rivaled by Jascha Heifetz, he placed it solely at the service of the music. I had the great honor and privilege of meeting him twice after his performances and he was very sweet and friendly towards me. I have the LP box of this very same set up on my wall for inspiration. Again, thank you Dave! 🙏🏻🎻
I have this on vinyl and cd both brilliant
After his left hand was injured he learnt to play with three fingers ! A true genius
Agree with everything u say Dave
Love this recording - elegant, beautiful musician.
Interesting chat. I have a few versions of this with the usual suspects (Heifetz, Perlman, Grumiaux etc) so it looks like I check out have to check out Milstein. Thank you for the tip. The Heifetz is my current favourite of these. The dry recording ambience has this weird effect that if you listen from another room , it really sounds like there is an actual violinist in the house playing it. Try it. It quite an amazing effect. Edwin Fisher's Well Tempered clavier recording is similar. I wonder if that is a the magic of mono recordings.
I would rank his Brahms Concerto with Fistoulari one of the greatest recordings of all time.......
I am lucky in that by pure chance, this was the first recording of the Partitas/ Sonatas I heard and purchased. Just blind chance. Lucky me.
An inspired, but let's face it, an obvious choice. Milstein's DG and earlier EMI versions of Bach are in my opinion the gold standard. As long as recorded music continues to exist, you can bet Milstein's Bach will always be a contender.
Bach's sonatas and partitas for solo violin are a bit of an acquired taste. I find the more one listens to them, the more one likes them.
Chacon a son gout. The chaconne of Bach is one of the monumental moments of music. Perhaps because my father loved Heifetz and Milstein and Kreisler and Oistrach, I fell in love with these at a young age.
I agree not everyone relates to them that way.
Try Paul Galbraith’s transcription for 8 string guitar if the violin is too screechy to your ears.
Thanks Dave. This series is wonderful.
I am learning so much from your talks and opinions on music, and it is great when your views coincide with mine! I think Nathan Milstein was wonderful both as a violinist and as a person. Thank you also for introducing me to the much neglected works of Alexander Glazunov. You have impeccable taste.
Thank you so much, Dave. Insight into Milstein, JSB, violin music, and broad context all within ten minutes. Quite amazing. Thank you so much for providing these videos. (Cameos by Mildred and Finster only add to the quality).
I love these pieces and also the cello suites. As a very inept amateur violist, I also like the cello suites played on viola. I'm amazed at what these instruments can accomplish when unaccompanied, and Bach is one of very few composers who has realized their potential. I didn't have the Milstein performances in my collection, but I do now. At times like this, I'm glad that I prefer digital downloads over physical copies, as I can obtain the music immediately. Interestingly, Presto has this set of performances, but there is also a Milstein complete DG recordings for just a few dollars more. In addition to the Bach, this set includes the Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn, and Brahms concertos and a few other works. For a little extra money, I figure it's worth checking these out too. As I sit here this evening drinking some very nice bourbon, I'll start working my way through this set.
I am the proud owner of an old LP of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto performed by Nathan Milstein with Charles Munch/ BSO. As far as I know, it's not available on CD or in mp3 format. But it's a cherished possession. And my reference recording. I adore Milstein's Bach, but that particular Tchaikovsky Concerto performance is special to me.
Correction: The marvelous Milstein/Munch Tchaikovsky recording was remastered and released in 2023 on the Biddulph Recordings label.
Correction of your correction. RCA released it years ago. I have it, coupled to the Dvorak concerto.
What else could there be?
Pls do the same for Hans Knappertsbusch
Sorry to digress here, but I'd love to hear your thoughts on great, good, not so good, bad acoustics in concert halls. Everyone knows Symphony Hall at Lincoln Center has been troubled from the beginning. I agree with those that are not impressed with Davies Hall in SF. What do you think. Which one is the best?
That's not a topic that interests me apart from the sound of individual recordings.
I only wish he would play more firmly on the lower strings.
Dave, if you had to choose between this Milstein recording of the Bach Sonatas & Partitas and the one made by Arthur Grumiaux, which one would you choose?
I don't have to choose and see no need to.
@@DavesClassicalGuide - Unfortunately I don't have unlimited shelf space. What would your "however choice" be for these works?
Where, oh where, is that Warner/EMI Milstein box? Keep agitating for it, Dave! Such a great violinist, poorly served, at least at present, by the label for which he made most of his recordings. I wager that, when at last that Milstein box is released, it will not be subject to the "curse of the megabox"--namely, the presence of many "mediocre" recordings among the gems. Did this violinist ever make a mediocre recording? Well, maybe, but the number must be vanishingly small.