What are you currently listening to (Classical)?
- Thread starter Bachtoven
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I don't have the original for a comparison, but this one sounds very good. The piano is a little "boxy" perhaps, but the violin sounds fine as does the balance between the instruments. Too bad it isn't an SACD so it didn't have to be downsampled to RBCD specs.
Thanks Bachtoven. How about a performance/SQ scale of say 5 . P:5 / SQ: 4 (for e.g.)
In my view Josef Suk was a very under-rated violinist. Some of that had to do with the era he lived in when there were so many other world class violinists who were household names. Perhaps as well there were nationality and geographical barriers that seemed to hold him down more than other eastern-European artists, let alone artists in Western Europe and the US. He did not as a rule record regularly for top-notch labels and although you obviously see ocassional work for the big name labels such as the Brahms listed above, most of his recordings were for the eastern-European labels that did not really have the same market penetration.
From my perspective as a violin student, however, his interpretations and playing were often used as benchmarks when I was learning pieces that he had recorded (same went for other perhaps not-so-well known names such as Jean-Jacques Kantorow). I always felt that his tone had a "high gloss" to it and I always appreciated his precision and cleanliness as well. To my ears he often sounded very much like Arthur Grumiaux. In my view in that sense he was one of the trailer blazers - along with Arthur Grumiaux - where clarity and precision took priority over virtuosity and the "first passed the finish line" type of approach. I felt that in terms of approach and style, Shlomo Mintz and Augustin Dumay were probably the natural successors to this type of style. Unfortunately (again only my opinion) his playing deteriorated in older age to the point where I do not think it is representative of the ability demonstrated up until around the early 1970s.
If you want to hear what I feel is the best ever interpretation of the Dvorak Sonatina, Josef Suk is the player you want to listen to. I think it was made for Supraphon and I have seen it released over the years onto CD.As for the Brahms Sonatas, again Augustin Dumay did a tremendous job on the DG label around 20 years ago now and there is an earlier analogue era Pinchas Zukerman recording (again on DG I think) that is also excellent.
This page linked to below has a button you can press to hear an excerpt from the final movement of the Dvorak Sonatina I mentioned earlier. As I say, in my view Suk's playing in later years was not anywhere near the calibre of his younger days, so this recording was made when he was at his peak powers. There is a concert recording on YouTube of him playing the same piece but I do not wish to link to it because in my opinion the performance does not represent what his best accomplishments are all about.
http://fast-mp3.org/josef-suk-sonat...r-op-100-b-183-iv-finale-allegro-20989699.htm
From my perspective as a violin student, however, his interpretations and playing were often used as benchmarks when I was learning pieces that he had recorded (same went for other perhaps not-so-well known names such as Jean-Jacques Kantorow). I always felt that his tone had a "high gloss" to it and I always appreciated his precision and cleanliness as well. To my ears he often sounded very much like Arthur Grumiaux. In my view in that sense he was one of the trailer blazers - along with Arthur Grumiaux - where clarity and precision took priority over virtuosity and the "first passed the finish line" type of approach. I felt that in terms of approach and style, Shlomo Mintz and Augustin Dumay were probably the natural successors to this type of style. Unfortunately (again only my opinion) his playing deteriorated in older age to the point where I do not think it is representative of the ability demonstrated up until around the early 1970s.
If you want to hear what I feel is the best ever interpretation of the Dvorak Sonatina, Josef Suk is the player you want to listen to. I think it was made for Supraphon and I have seen it released over the years onto CD.As for the Brahms Sonatas, again Augustin Dumay did a tremendous job on the DG label around 20 years ago now and there is an earlier analogue era Pinchas Zukerman recording (again on DG I think) that is also excellent.
This page linked to below has a button you can press to hear an excerpt from the final movement of the Dvorak Sonatina I mentioned earlier. As I say, in my view Suk's playing in later years was not anywhere near the calibre of his younger days, so this recording was made when he was at his peak powers. There is a concert recording on YouTube of him playing the same piece but I do not wish to link to it because in my opinion the performance does not represent what his best accomplishments are all about.
http://fast-mp3.org/josef-suk-sonat...r-op-100-b-183-iv-finale-allegro-20989699.htm
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