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Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D (Julia Fischer) Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto in D, Op. 35 Sérénade mélancolique, Op. 26 Valse – Scherzo, Op. 34 Souvenir d’un lieu cher, Op. 42 Julia Fischer, violin Yakov Kreizberg, conductor 2007 Gramophone Artist of the Year Echo Klassik Award, Best Instrumental Performance of 2007 Best of 2006, Audiophile Audition Editor's Choice, Gramophone Magazine (April 2007) Financial Times Critics Choice Pentatone SACD |
Acclaim for Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D (Julia Fischer)
One of the 25 Best of 2007
"A magnetic performance, full of character..."
Critic's Choice
"Of all the young violinists to have recently emerged on the world's concert platforms Fischer stands out... Her musical maturity is spread across her Tchaikovsky, the latest in a line of concertos she has recorded for this Dutch label. The performance [is] flawless in tone, technique and taste.... "
"There are any number of reasons to like this CD. Foremost among them, of course, is the impeccable beauty and accuracy of Julia Fischer’s playing.... It’s a beautiful performance, reinforced by Kreizberg’s sensitive accompaniment and a more beautiful-sounding wind section than I thought I’d ever hear in a Russian orchestra. Another reason to like this disc is PentaTone’s sonics... Highly recommended."
"...a recital as notable for the sensitivity of its accompaniment as it is for the depth of thought in the solo line. Yakov Kreizberg pulls the orchestra to its feet and makes the players dance."
Recording of the Month
"The talent of Julia Fischer is so awesome, her reading of this ‘old warhorse’ so fresh, so full of fire and vitality and wistful tenderness, and articulation, a model of clarity, that I unhesitatingly place it up with the finest interpretations.... Imaginative, intelligent programming further lifts this album.
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Editor's Choice
"Julia Fischer brings fearsome concentration to a concerto that is so often an excuse for self-indulgence. She also brings absolute control of colour and tone…. Kreizberg and the fabulous Russian National Orchestra provide superb support. [Fischer] is characterful in every phrase, with a sparkle and a sense of fantasy in virtuoso passages and an inner intensity in the intimate lyrical sections. [She] is greatly helped by the conducting of Kreizberg with the Russian National Orchestra, which is both taut and sympathetic...."
Splendors in SACD Sound [++++]
"Julia Fischer seems to have a nearly endless supply of élan on her new Tchaikovsky disk. She is a violinist of rare style, producing even and balanced tone throughout the range of her 1750 Guadagnini instrument.... Yakov Kreizburg, directing the wonderfully smooth Russian National Orchestra, proves an excellent foil for Fischer and is more than a mere accompanist..."
Recording of the Month
"The talent of Julia Fischer is so awesome, her reading of this ‘old warhorse’ so fresh, so full of fire and vitality and wistful tenderness, and articulation, a model of clarity, that I unhesitatingly place it up with the finest interpretations.... Imaginative, intelligent programming further lifts this album."
"[a] lyrical, virtuoso recording of Tchaikovsky’s famous Violin Concerto in D... The sound of [Fischer’s] 1750 Jean Baptitste (Giovanni Battisa) Guadagnini violin is spun gold...The recorded sound is warm, rich, and full, with excellent presence... This is as fine a recording of the Tchaikovsky Concerto as can be had, and surely the best in the SACD format."
"Fischer always knows when to lighten the mood, or how best to judge the tension and release of a musical paragraph, and in this she is supported to the hilt by a personable but never too overbearing Russian National Orchestra under the baton of Yakov Kreizberg, likeable from the opening
string phrase.... There isn’t an aspect of any of these works in which this world-class virtuoso fails to excel. Pentatone’s hybrid CD/SACD is superbly natural in both formats, with some understated spotlighting of the
characterful orchestral woodwind."
"[The] heartfelt expression from the superb woodwinds and Fischer would be enough to melt anyone's aversion to Tchaikovsky. The care which Kreizberg moulds the opening is wonderful… The strings slink in and take over from the woodwind in a manner that Karajan would have approved of … really quite marvellous. The finale is, as one would expect from these musicians’ other recordings, tremendously exciting.... One feels as the final chord dies away, cheated that there is no roar of applause that there surely would have been had this been a concert performance - that it was not speaks volumes about the electricity that these artists generate."
"Pentatone's new SACD of Tchaikovsky featuring their super-star violinist Julia Fischer is a knock-out. She plays impeccably with remarkable sensitivity and abundant virtuosity, abetted by the fine orchestra conducted by Kreizberg. [The] sonic quality is stunning. Highly recommended!"
A Perfect 10/10
"This... certainly belongs on anyone's short list of truly outstanding versions [of Tchaikovsky’s First Violin Concerto]. It has everything: transcendent virtuosity, tons of excitement in the finale, and…a soloist with both taste and a personal sound that allows her to make the music her own.... If you're looking for a splendid new Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto that offers superior artistic values and excellent SACD surround sonics, this is definitely the one to get. "
"Fischer makes the most of Tchaikovsky's repeats in the last movement, and her suave approach and often dynamic, facile runs may remind auditors of what Nathan Milstein could accomplish in this concerto, although he rarely had the engineering so good... Even those long sated by the market's offerings of the Violin Concerto may gravitate to this handsomely mounted recording..."
"This new [recording] from German violinist Julia Fischer, still in her early 20s, is an ear-opener. There's a refreshing forthrightness to her playing, a welcome unwillingness to sentimentalize music quite able to speak for itself. And her virtuosity in the finale sounds utterly effortless. She meets her match in Yakov Kreizberg and the Russian National Orchestra, who admirably balance unforced tautness and expressivity... Radiant performances captured in state-of-the-art SACD sonics."
"From the soloist’s rapt entry at the start of the work to the wonderful
sweep of the first tutti (note the thrilling trumpets) this is a spell
binding performance and one that stresses the lyrical beauty of the score.
Julia Fischer brings out all the beauties of the solo part, often using a
subtle rubato that, while never impeding the forward momentum of the music,
allows every phrase to tell. The cadenza is a miracle of both precision and
imaginative fantasy... The very fast ending is quite breathtaking and would,
I am sure, bring any concert audience to its feet... It need hardly be said
that PentaTone¹s recording...is of the highest quality, matching these most
musical of performances and capturing them in glorious sound."