Kreisler flies again - Reviewed on 2006-04-26
7 customers found this review helpful.
One of my earliest memories is of listening to Kreisler playing his works on 78 rpm records. Many of these are what Perlman is playing oon this collection. The notes make a disclaimer: Perlman is not trying to play these "like Kreisler".
Well, I own a Kreisler CD of transcriptions -- a couple of them, in fact, and the characteristics that endear his playing to us Perlman has in full measure. Perlman is fully immersed in Kreisler feeling, something he attested to in an interview ("The Violinist", on DVD) and I humbly suggest that he is unsurpassed in this repertoire. The pianist is uncannily like Kreisler's own accompanist, and the sense of nostalgia is very strong indeed!
There are three other violinists --at least-- with Kreisler collections out" Gil Shaham, Joshua Bell, and Kennedy. Of these, I think Gil Shaham does a beautiful job; I have not heard the other two.
I recommend this recording very highly indeed. The playing is as full of insidious charm and romantic almost to the point of sentimentality, which in my view is not a bad thing at all. (Gil Shaham's self-effacing style is lighter, providing a contrast for those who think that's what they want.)
Archimedes