Prokofiev & Shostakovich - Violin Concertos - Warner Classics: 3460532 - download

Listen on Presto Music. Free thirty day trial. Find out more.

…the warmly recorded Berlin Philharmonic and Rattle provide a tangibly symphonic framework for the Shostakovich, highlighting much interesting detail and colour. Chang is in superb form projecting... — BBC Music Magazine, April 2006, 4 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 6th Feb 2006
Catalogue No: 3460532
Label: Warner Classics
Length: 59 minutes

Gramophone Magazine

May 2006

Editor's Choice

Shostakovich: Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 99

Work length37:14

Album only

Sarah Chang (violin)
Berliner Philharmoniker
Sir Simon Rattle
Recorded: 2005-09-20
Recording Venue: 15-17 June & 16-20 September 2005 / Philharmonie, Berlin

I. Nocturne

Track length12:03

Album only

II. Scherzo

Track length6:38

$1.30

$1.70

$1.95

III. Passacaglia

Track length8:46

$1.30

$1.70

$1.95

IV. Cadenza

Track length4:44

$1.30

$1.70

$1.95

V. Burlesque

Track length5:03

$1.30

$1.70

$1.95

Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major, Op. 19

Work length22:17

Album only

Sarah Chang (violin)
Berliner Philharmoniker
Sir Simon Rattle
Recorded: 2005-09-20
Recording Venue: 15-17 June & 16-20 September 2005 / Philharmonie, Berlin

I. Andantino

Track length10:09

Album only

II. Scherzo

Track length3:57

$1.30

$1.70

$1.95

III. Moderato

Track length8:11

$1.30

$1.70

$1.95

Reviews
Explore

Reviews

April 2006

…the warmly recorded Berlin Philharmonic and Rattle provide a tangibly symphonic framework for the Shostakovich, highlighting much interesting detail and colour. Chang is in superb form projecting particularly high-voltage playing in the Scherzo and Finale of the Shostakovich and in the second movement of the Prokofiev.

2010

Gone are the days when Shostakovich's First Concerto meant one or other frequently inaccessible David Oistrakh LP. Today's young virtuosi are queuing up to record the piece. In making the transition from wunderkind to mature artist, Sarah Chang and EMI have previously played it safe, setting down lesser known concertos to general acclaim. This live recording from Berlin moves into more demanding territory with results that invite comparison with established classics. The soloist is fortunate to be partnered by Sir Simon Rattle and his Berliners and this is a reminder of his unambiguous excellence as a concerto accompanist. Notwithstanding a sound-stage that feels overstuffed at high decibels, the effect is quite different from those rival accounts where the orchestral part is painted in shades of grey. The sophisticated sense of colour and control of line anchor the performance.
What you might miss is that indefinable factor 'authenticity of experience'. Not that Sarah Chang lacks heart, courage or individuality. She plunges excitedly into climactic passages, determined to give her big dark sound a scorching edge. The technical control is mightily impressive. Chang's deployment of vibrato, perhaps a little wide and unvaried for some tastes, is unashamed; ditto the blood-and-guts bowing. Her ability to fine down her tone to a barely audible pianissimo is spellbinding in the opening Nocturne.
So what if there's a momentary lapse of intonation; this is great playing, perhaps the best she has yet given us. While the Passacaglia third movement is somehow less eloquent, it's well worth sampling a recording which, like Repin's, ensures that the music can actually be heard as variations on a ground.
The Prokofiev goes well, too, positively projected but never over-personalised.

May 2006

The soloist is fortunate to be partnered by Sir Simon Rattle and his Berliners. …this is a reminder of his unambiguous excellence as a concerto accompanist. Sarah Chang… plunges excitedly into climactic passages, determined to give her big dark sound a scorching edge, The technical control is mightily impressive... this is great playing, perhaps the best she has yet given us.

Prokofiev & Shostakovich - Violin Concertos

Downloads

Contents

Download queue