Wednesday 19 August 2009

Yet another talented young violinist. Yawn, yawn. There are now so many one loses track. Especially if they are Asian, as so many seem to be. So I put on a CD of someone called Chuanyun Li playing potboilers and prepared to like the technical perfection but to find the playing anodyne and pasteurised. But it turns out Chuanyun Li is very, very good indeed and I was reminded of my first tentative experimental listening to David Nadien. Li plays superbly (of course) but he also has a sensitive musicality and a good sense of style. After hearing his rendition of Paganini's almost impossible Nel cor più non mi sento I think the piece should be banned to all but those of Li's technical stature; there have been some pretty doubtful renditions of nel cor since recording began.

I was prepared to smile condescendingly at Li's performance of Strauss's Op 18 sonata, thinking back nostalgically to Heifetz and Repin. But, no: even here Li and his pianist (Robert Koenig) are well worth listening to. It should also be remarked that the (Chinese) recording is perfectly balanced and recorded.

Hunting round for something to criticise: it's a pity young violinists seeking to make their marks do not look round for attractive violin miniatures outside a selection from the usual twenty or so. There must be around 400 good pieces available, but here we get the same old Zapateado, Salut d'Amour, Kroll's mediocre Banjo & Fiddle, Gluck-Kreisler Mélodie, etc. Only things missing are Liebesfreud and Massenet's Elégie. But Mr Li does turn in a very good Ronde des Lutins.

5 comments:

Lee said...

Very glad you liked it Harry. I had the same impressions of the Nel cor and R Strauss VS as you did. But I just don't like Gluck-Kreisler's Melodie - despite most top fellas playing it. Li's version is very pleasant. Enjoy!

Harry Collier said...

We all have our unfavourite pieces. Mine, by far, is Krolls' Banjo & Fiddle. I find it so trite. Has me leaping for the "next track" button within seconds.

oisfetz said...

Viktoria Mullova had a superb recording of "Nel cor.."

Lee said...

I don't mind Banjo & Fiddle so much. Its the Gluck that I don't like. Overplayed, over-recorded and badly played. Li's version - is not bad. I didn't press the forward button so fast.

Harry Collier said...

I have "Nel cor" played by: Barbieri, Gringolts, Huang, Josefowicz, Kogan, Kubelik, Menuhin, Milenkovich, Mullova x 2, Papavrami, Prihoda x 3, Repin x 2, Ricci x 2 and Daniel Röhn. Some are good, most mediocre, some pretty bad (especially Kubelik, Menuhin and Ricci). Mr Li's is the only "Nel cor" with which I can remember feeling entirely comfortable. It's a pretty tawdry piece unless played by someone who has no need to worry about the technical aspects of the playing.