Good...but not great... | Dvorák: Violin Concerto / Piano Quintet / Sarah Chang

Not very memorable. | Dvorák: Violin Concerto / Piano Quintet / Sarah Chang | Antonin Dvorak, Colin Davis, ...

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	• Dvorák: Violin Concerto / Piano Quintet / Sarah Chang Antonin Dvorak, Colin Davis, ... EMI Classics, 2003 average customer review:based on 11 reviews view larger image
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A Must have recording.

Sarah Chang is the star here. She does a beautiful job on the Dvorak Violin Concerto. She is an artist to keep up with.

I really ordered this for the Piano Quintet. A bit of trivia not mentioned in the notes, this contains the theme music from a Post World War II movie, "The Boy With Green Hair". Very sensitive and sentimental. The performance is great. See the movie on Turner Classic Movies or American Classic Movies when they show it.

Good...but not great...

In Februrary I am going to see Hilary Hahn play the Dvorak concerto in Cleveland and have been acquiring numerous recordings (and a score) of the concerto to familiarize myself with it before hearing it live. (Note: I am not comparing the two, just saying why I have listened to 5 or 6 Dvorak recordings lately...) In my opinion, the best recording of the concerto out there is Oistrakh's, his interpretation is great. That said, I feel that while Ms. Chang has superb intonation and a very full and rich sound, I think that at times her interpretation of the Dvorak is a little too sappy and overly romantic. Her tempos are, in my mind, on the slow side and as a whole, this takes away from the flow of the piece...it seems to drag on. Also, though I love her sound for some works (i.e. - her Fire and Ice and Strauss CD's), I feel that here she tried too hard to connect notes and phrases and and it bogs the solo down...I would like to see her be freer with it and not always work so hard to make the gorgeous, full, rich tone that she has (not that she shouldn't have a full and rich sound, but it is always the same sound...) Sarah Chang is obviously very talented, but this is definitely not a recording of hers that I will listen to often....

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Not very memorable.

Sarah Chang gives an uninspired performance here. I agree with others that the tempo is very sluggish and most noticed in the last movement. The interpretation is dull and forgettable. It's a shame because I know Chang is capable of so much more. If you want an incredible recording, take look at Akiko Suwanai's rendition of the same concerto.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3

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Tracks
I. Allegro, Ma Non Troppo-Quasi Moderato | II. Adagio, Ma Non Torppo | III. Finale: Allegro Giocoso, Ma Non Troppo | I. Allegro, Ma Non Tanto | II. Dumka: Andante Con Moto-Un Pochettino Piu Mosso-Tempo I-Vivace (Quasi L'istesso Tempo)-Tempo I | III. Scherzo (Furiant): Molto Vivace-Poco Tranquillo-Tempo I | IV. Finale: Allegro