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VIOLIN CONCERTOS

VIOLIN CONCERTOS

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We all know this: debut albums come and go; young wizard violinists who for the most part all sound alike come and go; and certainly marketing efforts come and go. Aside from tepid reviews for a Nielsen concerto performance at Carnegie Hall with the Leipzig Gewandhaus and Herbert Blomstedt in late 2001, there hasn't been much attention paid to 26-year-old violinist Nikolaj Znaider, but in the meantime RCA Red Seal signed him to an exclusive deal. (In the interest of full disclosure, the label asked me to write the short Znaider biography that appears on its website, but I have no attachment to this disc.)


Well, RCA made a very smart move: this guy is a powerhouse, and this is one of the most impressive discs I've heard in a long time. (It's actually not his first album; he made a recording of Nielsen and Bruch for EMI that--surprise, surprise--was issued and cut out in near record time, and a lot of people are mistaking this RCA disc as Znaider's debut.) Although he studied with the late Dorothy DeLay at Juilliard, he has honed a distinct sound and a clear point of view, unlike many of DeLay's other students who have an unfortunate tendency to machine-gun their way through difficult scores, firing off passages with rat-a-tat-tat accuracy and zero emotion. Znaider, on the other hand, manages to be both muscular and achingly sweet, an unbelievable combination that works especially well in the shifting moods of the Prokofiev.


There's a nasty edge to the outer movements, a knowing sourness to Znaider's playing that's reminiscent of Oistrakh. The excitement that builds in the final minute and a half of the concerto's last movement is palpable; the tension of the thudding percussion sets off Znaider's emotionally crazed (but technically impeccable) cross-registral runs. On the other hand, the inner Andante assai offers the violinist a chance to show off a lyrical romanticism that is echoed in the less interesting Glazunov concerto, a piece that compositionally is far more one-dimensional than the Prokofiev. The tossaway here is the Tchaikovsky Méditation, but again it's a chance for the young Danish violinist (of Polish-Israeli heritage) to show off his lush, rich sound and flexible phrasing that undoubtedly will remind many listeners of the golden age of violinists.


Mariss Jansons and the Bavarian Radio Symphony are astute accompanists, playing crisply and cleanly (if a bit leaden-footed in the first movement of the Prokofiev), but the truth is that in all respects this is Znaider's star turn. The sound is realistic and the balance between soloist and orchestra is excellent.
--Anastasia Tsioulcas, ClassicsToday.com
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Product Description:


  • Release Date: March 19, 2002


  • UPC: 743218745423


  • Catalog Number: 74321874542


  • Label: Sony Masterworks


  • Number of Discs: 1


  • Composer: Prokofiev, Glazunov


  • Performer: Nikolaj Znaider