Bach Violin Concertos

Kennedy, the violinist formerly known as Nigel Kennedy, has a well-earned reputation as the bad boy of classical music. His defiantly anti-Establishment antics anger traditionalists and tickle the rebellious. This venture into the Bach canon will confirm both camps in their views. Traditionalists will fume at such excesses as the exaggerated, ugly flourish at the end of the E Major Concerto and the supersonic speeds adopted for the Allegro movement of the two-violin Concerto among much else, including the puzzle-booklet more appropriate to a pop release. Kennedy's fans, though, will relish those elements of what is an ultimately fairly straightforward set of Bach interpretations enlivened by personal touches, a string sound that owes much to "authentic instrument" practices, and zippy speeds that make for exciting listening.

What you will hear is a performance and recording that is not unlike 'The Stokowski Sound.' Deep, rich and firm bass line, smooth strings and lushness around. The soloists are as romantic. The second movement of the double concerto is a love duet. It has a beauty that literally arrests you.

Itzhak Perlman was born in Israel in 1945 and moved to the USA in 1958, where he trained at the Juilliard School in New York. His success in winning the prestigious Leventritt Competition in 1964 launched his international career through which he has become known as one of the world's leading musicians.
Itzhak Perlman has appeared with every major orchestra and in recitals and festivals throughout the world. In November 1987 he joined the Israel Philharmonic for history-making concerts in Warsaw and Budapest, representing the first performances by this orchestra and soloist in Eastern block countries. He again made history as he joined the Israel Philharmonic for its first visit to the Soviet Union in April 1990 with concerts in Moscow and Leningrad. In recent years Perlman has continued to perform with leading orchestras in addition to touring major cities throughout the world with his accompanists Bruno Canino and Samuel Sanders. In 1996 Perlman's engagements included concerto and recital appearances throughout Europe, Asia and North America, including appearances with many of the world's foremost orchestras and composers.

Bach - Violin Concertos - Perlman, Zukerman, Barenboim (2001) {EMI Records 7243 5 74555 2 7 rec 1971, 1974}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 361 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 150 Mb
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© 1971-74, 2001 EMI Records | 7243 5 74555 2 7
Classical / Baroque / Violin / Orchestral

Outstanding collection of Bach violin concertos performed by beloved violinist Itzhak Perlman. Born in Israel in 1945, Perlman completed his initial training at the Academy of Music in Tel Aviv. He came to New York and soon was propelled into the international arena with an appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1958.

Although not quite as well known as some of his other works, Bach's violin concertos contain some of the most beautiful music ever composed. While there are many performances of these concertos available, including some recent releases, the classic performances offered here, featuring the great Arthur Grumiaux on violin (and the great Hermann Krebbers on the double violin concerto), are far and away my favorites. I cannot recommend this disc more highly.

Akiko Suwanai (born in 1972) is one of the brightest violinists to have emerged in the late 20th century, winning the Tchaikovsky International Competition, the youngest person to do so, in 1990. She has gone on to an impressive concert and recording career that encompasses both traditional repertoire and world premieres. Her 2006 album J.S. Bach: Violin Concertos was an instant success. Her performance is impressive: incisive, nuanced, and idiomatic. Her tone has an appealing warmth, but she remains true to the character of the music and doesn't lapse into Romantic tone quality or interpretations.

There is certainly no shortage of recordings of these popular Bach violin works, but this one by the Dunedin Consort with violinist Cecilia Bernardini has many aspects to recommend it. At the top of the list must be the soloist's flair of Bernardini herself, playing a bright-eyed 1743 Camillus Camilli violin. In her playing you get the virtuoso energy of the contemporary Italian school without the hard edge, and there is a sense of play in her music-making that one senses Bach would have loved.

This release of Bach's well-explored violin concertos (plus a couple of arranged keyboard concertos) by Italian violinist Giuliano Carmignola delivers truth in advertising on its back cover: the violinist, playing a 1739 Guidantus and leading the historical-instrument ensemble Concerto Köln, "seems to cast fresh light on these much-loved masterpieces by imbuing them with all the joyfulness of his Venetian sound."