Julia Fischer

Julia Fischer – Russian Violin Concertos: Khachaturian / Prokofiev / Glazunov (2004)
SACD ISO (2.0/MCH): 3,87 GB | 24B/88,2kHz Stereo FLAC: 1,25 | Full Artwork | 3% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Pentatone # PTC 5186 059 | Country/Year: Europe 2004
Genre: Classical | Style: Early 20th Century, Violin Concerto

This has to be one of my favourite violin concerto discs – stuffed full of beautiful but highly contrasted music, presented with great panache and sensitivity from a young violinist, orchestra & conductor in wonderfully well balanced MCH sound.

Right from the opening, Kriezburg and the RNO (a fabulous ensemble since inception) provide a vivid and colourful introduction to allow Julia Fischer to come and dance away with the main theme. Throughout the accompaniment is alert to the need to allow the solo lines to come through the orchestral textures. The tempo taken is not driven but always has a sense of forward movement. In the slow movement, the more meditative side of Khachaturian’s music is given free and imaginative rein by JF. The concluding Allegro vivace is just that! The playing bursts in and gleefully skips along which makes for a quite invigorating experience – I had to restrain my hand from pressing “repeat” on the remote control such is the pleasure that I experienced (I gave in after listening to the whole disc though!)

The Prokofiev is a harder piece to pull off successfully, the heart is not worn on the sleeve like Khachaturian or Glazunov do but when it is successful it is one of Prokofiev’s most enchanting pieces which hides some darker emotions. In the opening the solo line floats above the shimmering tutti strings and soars with the woodwind. Some violinists cannot vary their tone sufficiently and so appear to be strident, “weak” or bland. Fischer does not suffer from this and treats us to a lovely display ranging from tender to dazzling to strong. Just as the music creeps in from barely being concious, it retreats in a most delightful manner here with all contributions perfectly balanced against one another. The Scherzo then is played with such energy that it almost eclipses the vigour of the Khachaturian. The almost balletic and songful closing movement that moves ever closer to tranquillity is given the same care and attention that was lavished on the closing of the first movement and delightfully disappears into the ether that it emerged from some 20 minutes earlier.

The Glazunov is a very “sweet” experience and as such the performers need to treat it with lightness that we don’t reach for more substantial fare. The opening section of this piece is thrown off without a care in the world and we soon find ourselves in the more meditative Andante. Here Fischer phrases without a hint of self-conciousness that others seem to wallow in and it is a very refreshing experience indeed not to have ones ears laden with sentimentality. The cadenza builds up a real head of steam which powers the concluding Allegro to the dazzling conclusion the Glazunov had surely imagined as pen was put to paper. Throughout, Kreizburg and the RNO appear to be of identical mind as Fischer and the RNO leaves me in no doubt of their stunning but selfless virtuosity.

The recording itself is extremely good with a great deal of detail coming across with real presence in this very vivid music. The balance places us in my favourite position in the stalls (about half way back) and the accoustic is presented nicely, with percussive effects echoing nicely off the “walls” in MCH.

A real joy – don’t hesitate, I find it really hard to imagine this disc being bettered for a long time to come.

Copyright © 2005 John Broggio and SA-CD.net

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Julia Fischer – J.S. Bach: Sonatas And Partitas For Solo Violin BWV 1001-1006 (2005)
Genre: Classical, Violin | SACD ISO: DST64 5.0; 2.0 > 1-bit/2.8224 MHz | 7.38 GB
Label: Pentatone Classics | Release Year: 2005

No doubt many of you are wondering whether I should be recording Bach’s complete sonatas and partitas at the age of only 21. Perhaps I should have waited a bit longer? Well, patience has seldom been my strong point, and after all I have already waited a number of years for an opportunity to record these works. During the first six years of study with my teacher Ana Chumachenco, I studied the sonatas and partitas thoroughly, and first performed both cycles in their entirety in the Bach year 2000, during the course of two evenings at the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival. Ever since that intensive “Bach month”, in which I concentrated purely on the music of this composer, I have felt the urgent need to hold on to the sonatas and partitas by means of a recording. This musical experience led me to overcome my many years of aversion to studio recordings. Thus, I decided at the time already to reserve my first solo CD for the music of Bach.
One reason for this was that I have played Bach’s music on my violin more or less on a daily basis since I was nine; and I had begun to explore the Wohltemperierte Klavier on the piano two years earlier. As far as I am concerned, his works represent the fountainhead of music and the basis for all musicians. My day has to begin with Bach, and I find it very difficult to concentrate on the music of another composer before having “cleansed myself”, as it were, with Bach. Furthermore, he is the composer who plays the most important role in my memories of childhood and development.
The recording at hand represents a segment of a musical journey which by no means has been concluded. My interpretation of this music is bound to change later on; nevertheless, I wanted to be able to hold on to my experience and understanding of these wonderful compositions to date.
Julia Fischer

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Julia Fischer – J.S. Bach: Sonatas & Partitas for Solo Violin, BWV 1001-1006 (2005)
DSF Stereo DSD64, 1 bit/2,82 MHz | Time – 02:28:48 minutes | 5,88 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download – Source: nativeDSDmusic | Booklet, Front Cover | © Pentatone Music B.V.

No doubt many of you are wondering whether I should be recording Bach’s complete sonatas and partitas at the age of only 21. Perhaps I should have waited a bit longer? Well, patience has seldom been my strong point, and after all I have already waited a number of years for an opportunity to record these works. During the first six years of study with my teacher Ana Chumachenco, I studied the sonatas and partitas thoroughly, and first performed both cycles in their entirety in the Bach year 2000, during the course of two evenings at the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival. Ever since that intensive “Bach month”, in which I concentrated purely on the music of this composer, I have felt the urgent need to hold on to the sonatas and partitas by means of a recording. This musical experience led me to overcome my many years of aversion to studio recordings. Thus, I decided at the time already to reserve my first solo CD for the music of Bach.

(more…)

Read more