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Glazunov Violin Concerto,
Meditation, & Seasons
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"This one is superb"
Artistic Quality: 10 / Sound Quality: 10
David Hurwitz, Classics Today
"...a thoroughly beguiling and exhilarating listening experience.
Aaron Rosand is a commanding presence, responsive to every twist and turn of
music whose spirit he seems to comprehend intuitively. "
Performance: 5 stars --- Sound: 5 stars
Christopher Wood, BBC Music Magazine
Performer: Rosand, Aaron
Composer: Glazunov, Alexander
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1. Violin Concerto Op. 82: Moderato 2. Violin Concerto Op. 82: Andante 3. Violin Concerto Op. 82: Animando/Allegro 4. Mediation for Violin & Orchestra ---Op. 32: Andante Sostenuto 5. Les Saisons Op. 67: L'Hiver: introduction 6. Les Saisons Op. 67: Variation I: Le Givre 7. Les Saisons Op. 67: Variation II: Le Glace 8. Les Saisons Op. 67: Variation III: La Grele 9. Les Saisons Op. 67: Variation IV: La Neige 10. Les Saisons Op. 67: Coda 11. Les Saisons Op. 67: Printemps |
12. Les Saisons Op. 67: L'Ete 13. Les Saisons Op. 67: Valse des Bluets et des Pavots 14. Les Saisons Op. 67: Barcarolle 15. Les Saisons Op. 67: Variation 16. Les Saisons Op. 67: Coda 17. Les Saisons Op. 67: L'Automne: Bacchanal 18. Les Saisons Op. 67: Entrees des Saisons-L'hiver 19. Les Saisons Op. 67: Printemps 20. Les Saisons Op. 67: L'Ete 21. Les Saisons Op. 67: Petit ADagio 22. Les Saisons Op. 67: Variation: La Satyre/Apotheose |
..."I would certainly commend this as one of the most desirable performances on disc. From the pent-up urgency of the opening bars, Rosand makes you listen afresh to the wonderful sequence of melodies the composer created, each one beautifully shaded. At times he takes modest liberties, adding changes of pulse as he shapes each movement into a seamless whole. Then, as in the Bruch, he embarks on such a virile and happy finale. As an encore he gives a honeyed account of the Meditation. The recently formed Malaysian Philharmonic gives first-class support and a different recording team provides premier-league sound."
--David Denton, June 2002
"In the UK at least, the Malaysian Philharmonic is not yet a household name. It was formed in 1997 thanks to the generosity – let's call it – of a Malaysian petrol company, and gave its inaugual concert the year after under the stewardship of music director Kees Bakels. The orchestra's concert programme includes dress code stipulations that seem quaint to us scruffy-sophisticated Britishers, such as ‘Long-sleeve batik' or ‘lounge suite or smart casual' . I doubt I would get past the door, which makes me all the more delighted to have had the chance to hear the orchestra on disc. In the relatively short period of their time together, Bakels has marshalled the orchestra into a disciplined unit without having resorted to any compromises on spontaneity or lightness of touch. In Glazunov's baller score The Seasons – a seductive and neglected work which betrays the influence of Glazunov's friend and teacher Rimsky-Korsakov – these qualities are to the fore, and make for a thoroughly beguiling and exhilarating listening experience. In the more ofter performed Violin Concerto, soloist Aaron Rosand is a commanding presence, responsive to every twist and turn of music whose spirit he seems to comprehend intuitively. Equally in the brief Meditation for violin and orchestra, Rosand succeeds in giving a fresh face to Glazunov's familiar harmonic world.
...a very recommendable first choice."
--Christopher Wood, March 2002
"I was prepared to give the venerable Rosand a pass in this new recording of the Glazounov Violin Concerto, made only last year; but I needn't have worried. Aaron Rosand at 74 is a marvel; in fact he sounds better than Menuhin at half his age, with a burnished tone and undiminished facility that makes the skitterish writing some 4 minutes into the Andante as well as the slashing double-stops that follow seem like child's play; yet there is in the lyrical second subject of I and the whole of the Andante a serene repose that soothes the soul, a sweet lyricism that merges seamlessly with the smoldering passions on either side. Rosand rhapsodizes as if quite on the spur of the moment in that extended solo that leads in its own good time into the Red Square finale, where the clarion trumpets triumphantly set the scene for a marvelous blend of playful banter and all-out pyrotechnics that Rosand tosses off efortlessly, closing out with a deplay of rapid-fire strumming and high-flying harmonics that would be the envy of many players now doggedly plying the concert circuit. In the warmly lyrical Meditation – I was surprised to find I didn't even have it in my collection – there is some wonderfully effusive string writing both for Rosand and his colleagues in the orchestra, making for a highly satisfying encore."
--Haller, March/April 2002
"Yes, Vox is still making new recordings, and so is violinist Aaron Rosand. This one is superb. The excellence of the Malaysian Philharmonic may come as a bit of a surprise to many collectors (that country's government has spent literally tens of millions of dollars to create and house a first class ensemble), and the exceptional quality of these performances certainly wasn't something that could be taken for granted. Still, listening is believing. Rosand plays Glazunov's charming and still underrated Violin Concerto with exactly the right vein of gentle poetry that it requires. He handles the Moderato opening and ensuing Andante sweetly and characterfully with tasteful touches of portamento, then projects the rollicking finale with effortless virtuosity. Bakels and the orchestra provide a richly colored, expertly balanced accompaniment. The brief Meditation Op. 32 makes a delightful encore. --David Hurwitz
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