Unlimited Streaming
Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps
Start my trial period and start listening to this albumEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
SubscribeEnjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription
Digital Download
Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.
The good news keeps on coming from the bow of Italian-Scots youngster Nicola Benedetti, who takes on the king of all the warhorses, Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64, for her second album, and delivers a fresh, well-worked-out interpretation. Benedetti, with expert support from the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields under James MacMillan, avoids any overwrought quality that might have been brought on by the pressures of making a high-profile recording in a shrinking major-label classical environment. Indeed, her entire conception of the Mendelssohn concerto is not only smaller in scale than might have been expected, it is smaller than the modern norm for the work. The difference is apparent right from the concerto's striking opening, where many violinists try to crank out auditorium-sized sound to match the swelling stormy passions in the orchestral strings. Benedetti, here and throughout, is slender in tone and strongly oriented toward distinctively shaping the work's individual melodies. Technically she is very sharp, and in faster passages she's rather sprite-like. Her reading of the long first movement is full of nice details that fill out her reflective, poetic conception. Hear the almost vanishing high note just before the beginning of the coda, for example -- it's like a fading shard of a firework. The concerto as a whole comes off as somewhat episodic in Benedetti's hands; the normally sharp contrast between the intense opening movement and the repose of the Andante is reduced. Her interpretation accords with that of German violinist Joseph Joachim, quoted in the booklet (which contains useful text, imprisoned by miserable graphic design), who called Mendelssohn's "the most inward, the heart's jewel" of the great German violin concertos. Benedetti herself conducts the two rather slight single-movement pieces for violin and orchestra and sets up numerous moments of pure charm for her own violin. The album winds down nicely with warm, lyrical music that complements the Mendelssohn, although things deteriorate toward the end. The violin-and-harp arrangement of the Schubert Ave Maria (track 7) breaks the flow of orchestral music in a cheesy way, and From Ayrshire, the compositional contribution by conductor MacMillan, diverges from the bright, youthful mood of the rest of the music-making. Even in these works, however, Benedetti's playing is quite compelling. If there is a future for charismatic classical "stars," marketed by big labels and touring the famous concert halls of the world, it lies with young artists like this one, who keep their wits about them and figure out what it is that they hope to communicate to audiences.
© TiVo
You are currently listening to samples.
Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.
Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.
From $10.83/month
Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op. 64, MWV O 14 (Felix Mendelssohn)
Andrew Keener, Producer - Felix Mendelssohn, Composer - Kenneth Sillito, Leader - Will Brown, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Simon Eadon, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Orchestra, MainArtist - James MacMillan, Conductor, MainArtist - Nicola Benedetti, Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Jane Ward, Producer, Associate Producer
℗ 2006 Universal Classics & Jazz
Andrew Keener, Producer - Felix Mendelssohn, Composer - Kenneth Sillito, Leader - Will Brown, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Simon Eadon, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Orchestra, MainArtist - James MacMillan, Conductor, MainArtist - Nicola Benedetti, Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Jane Ward, Producer, Associate Producer
℗ 2006 Universal Classics & Jazz
Andrew Keener, Producer - Felix Mendelssohn, Composer - Kenneth Sillito, Leader - Will Brown, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Simon Eadon, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Orchestra, MainArtist - James MacMillan, Conductor, MainArtist - Nicola Benedetti, Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Jane Ward, Producer, Associate Producer
℗ 2006 Universal Classics & Jazz
Adagio in E for Violin, K.261 (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer - Andrew Keener, Producer - Kenneth Sillito, Leader - Will Brown, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Simon Eadon, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Orchestra, MainArtist - Nicola Benedetti, Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Jane Ward, Producer, Associate Producer
℗ 2006 Universal Classics & Jazz
Rondo pour violon & orchestre en ut majeur, KV 373 (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer - Andrew Keener, Producer - Kenneth Sillito, Leader - Will Brown, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Simon Eadon, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Orchestra, MainArtist - James MacMillan, Conductor, MainArtist - Nicola Benedetti, Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Jane Ward, Producer, Associate Producer
℗ 2006 Universal Classics & Jazz
Serenade ('Standchen' No 4 from Schwanengesang D957) (Franz Schubert)
Andrew Keener, Producer - Franz Schubert, Composer - Kenneth Sillito, Leader - Will Brown, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Simon Eadon, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Orchestra, MainArtist - Ian Stephens, Arranger, Work Arranger - Nicola Benedetti, Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Jane Ward, Producer, Associate Producer
℗ 2006 Universal Classics & Jazz
Ave Maria, D839 (Franz Schubert)
Franz Schubert, Composer - Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Orchestra, MainArtist - Jascha Heifetz, Contributor, Work Editor - August Wilhelmj, Arranger, Work Arranger - James MacMillan, Conductor, MainArtist - Nicola Benedetti, Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 Universal Classics & Jazz
From Ayrshire (James MacMillan)
Andrew Keener, Producer - Kenneth Sillito, Leader - Will Brown, Asst. Recording Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Simon Eadon, Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Orchestra, MainArtist - James MacMillan, Composer, Conductor, MainArtist - Nicola Benedetti, Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Jane Ward, Producer, Associate Producer
℗ 2006 Universal Classics & Jazz
Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Orchestra, MainArtist - James MacMillan, Composer, Conductor, MainArtist - Nicola Benedetti, Violin, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer
℗ 2006 Universal Classics & Jazz
Album review
The good news keeps on coming from the bow of Italian-Scots youngster Nicola Benedetti, who takes on the king of all the warhorses, Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64, for her second album, and delivers a fresh, well-worked-out interpretation. Benedetti, with expert support from the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields under James MacMillan, avoids any overwrought quality that might have been brought on by the pressures of making a high-profile recording in a shrinking major-label classical environment. Indeed, her entire conception of the Mendelssohn concerto is not only smaller in scale than might have been expected, it is smaller than the modern norm for the work. The difference is apparent right from the concerto's striking opening, where many violinists try to crank out auditorium-sized sound to match the swelling stormy passions in the orchestral strings. Benedetti, here and throughout, is slender in tone and strongly oriented toward distinctively shaping the work's individual melodies. Technically she is very sharp, and in faster passages she's rather sprite-like. Her reading of the long first movement is full of nice details that fill out her reflective, poetic conception. Hear the almost vanishing high note just before the beginning of the coda, for example -- it's like a fading shard of a firework. The concerto as a whole comes off as somewhat episodic in Benedetti's hands; the normally sharp contrast between the intense opening movement and the repose of the Andante is reduced. Her interpretation accords with that of German violinist Joseph Joachim, quoted in the booklet (which contains useful text, imprisoned by miserable graphic design), who called Mendelssohn's "the most inward, the heart's jewel" of the great German violin concertos. Benedetti herself conducts the two rather slight single-movement pieces for violin and orchestra and sets up numerous moments of pure charm for her own violin. The album winds down nicely with warm, lyrical music that complements the Mendelssohn, although things deteriorate toward the end. The violin-and-harp arrangement of the Schubert Ave Maria (track 7) breaks the flow of orchestral music in a cheesy way, and From Ayrshire, the compositional contribution by conductor MacMillan, diverges from the bright, youthful mood of the rest of the music-making. Even in these works, however, Benedetti's playing is quite compelling. If there is a future for charismatic classical "stars," marketed by big labels and touring the famous concert halls of the world, it lies with young artists like this one, who keep their wits about them and figure out what it is that they hope to communicate to audiences.
© TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 9 track(s)
- Total length: 00:56:30
- Main artists: Nicola Benedetti
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Decca (UMO)
- Genre: Classical
© 2006 Universal Classics & Jazz This Compilation ℗ 2006 Universal Classics & Jazz
Improve album information
Why buy on Qobuz?
-
Stream or download your music
Buy an album or an individual track. Or listen to our entire catalog with our high-quality unlimited streaming subscriptions.
-
Zero DRM
The downloaded files belong to you, without any usage limit. You can download them as many times as you like.
-
Choose the format best suited for you
Download your purchases in a wide variety of formats (FLAC, ALAC, WAV, AIFF...) depending on your needs.
-
Listen to your purchases on our apps
Download the Qobuz apps for smartphones, tablets, and computers, and listen to your purchases wherever you go.