Monday 9 January 2012

Maria Callas in Tosca or Norma; Edwin Fischer in Bach; Otto Klemperer in Beethoven; Wilhelm Furtwängler in Bruckner or Wagner; Walter Gieseking in Debussy: to these I would add Tianwa Yang in Sarasate. Prompted by a remark from a friend, I indulged myself in 68 minutes of Miss Yang playing Sarasate and was sorry when the 68 minutes were up. I did not admire the playing; I did not admire the sound of the violin. I just sat back and enjoyed Sarasate's music played by a master (as the saying goes), which is what great performances are all about. Yang and Sarasate belong in the lifetime collection of anyone who loves the violin, violin playing, and Sarasate's music. And, once again, bravo Naxos.

4 comments:

Lee said...

Wonderful playing, music and recording! I also enjoyed all 3 volumes of violin & orchestral music as well as volume 2 of the violin & piano CD.

Lee said...

Time to put out Wieniawski violin music too - Naxos.

Harry Collier said...

She is currently being much praised in Seattle where she played Ravel's Tzigane and Saint-Saëns Havanaise. She seems to specialise in Franco-Spanish music at the moment, probably wisely. A friend who heard her play a Prokofiev concerto said the violin playing was superb, but the idiom was off.

Harry Collier said...

In addition to the above, she is playing Lalo's Symphonie Espagnole in Tennessee, at the moment.