{"id":39032,"date":"2016-10-09T11:45:45","date_gmt":"2016-10-09T15:45:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/?p=39032"},"modified":"2016-10-10T11:36:38","modified_gmt":"2016-10-10T15:36:38","slug":"record-keeping-pinchas-zukerman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2016\/10\/09\/record-keeping-pinchas-zukerman\/","title":{"rendered":"RECORD KEEPING | Is There Anything Pinchas Zukerman Can’t Play Well?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"BAROQUE
BAROQUE TREASURY. BACH: Concerto for Oboe and Violin BWV 1060. Suite No. 3 in D major BWV 1068. HANDEL: Solomon: Arrival of the Queen of Sheba. VIVALDI: Concerto for Violin and Cello in B flat major RV 547. TELEMANN: Viola Concerto in G major. TARTINI-RESPIGHI: Pastorale for Violin and Orchestra. Pinchas Zukerman, violin and viola. Charles Hamann, oboe. Amanda Forsyth, cello. National Arts Centre Orchestra\/Pinchas Zukerman. Analekta AN2 8783. Total Time: 75:00.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The musical life of Pinchas Zukerman (68) appears to be busier than ever. Although he recently stepped down as music director of the National Arts Centre Orchestra, he is still principal guest conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. As it happens, we have new recordings featuring Zukerman as soloist and conductor with both these orchestras, and each of them, with minor qualifications, is superb.<\/p>\n

If you are looking for original instruments or historically informed performances along the lines of Tafelmusik or Les Violins du Roy, \u201cBaroque Treasury\u201d may not be the right choice for you; these are old-fashioned or historically \u201cuninformed\u201d performances, if you will. The musicians on these recordings play with plenty of vibrato, tempos are moderate and the token harpsichord is generally inaudible. That said, at a time when original instrument groups have practically taken over the baroque repertoire \u2014 have you heard the Toronto Symphony play much Bach or Handel lately, apart from Messiah<\/em>? \u2013 it is refreshing to see the NAC refusing to yield. And surely there is room in our musical universe for all manner of approaches, at least when they are sincere and proficient. \u201cSincere and proficient\u201d is certainly the case here. Under the departing Zukerman \u2013 this is his last recording with the NAC Orchestra after 16 years at the helm \u2014 this fine Ottawa band offers up some very persuasive baroque performances.<\/p>\n

Zukerman takes slower than usual tempi for Bach\u2019s Concerto for violin and oboe \u2014 all the better, to allow time for the interplay between the solo instruments. Charles Hamann makes a gorgeous, expressive sound which matches the famous Zukerman tone perfectly. The same could be said of the other double concerto on the disc, Vivaldi\u2019s Concerto for violin and cello in B flat major<\/em>, with Zukerman and Amanda Forsyth in complete sync, one with the other.<\/p>\n

Pinchas Zukerman has always had an affection for the viola as well as the violin and must be counted one of the world\u2019s top soloists on both instruments. Apart from some rushed tempos here and there, the Telemann Viola Concerto in G major<\/em> \u2013 perhaps the first viola concerto ever written\u00a0\u2014 is given a mellifluous and forceful reading.<\/p>\n

Zukerman does what he can for the Pastorale <\/em>for Violin and string orchestra, an arrangement by Respighi of some sonata movements by Tartini \u2014 a somewhat weak piece. The CD concludes with a fine performance of Bach\u2019s Suite No. 3 in D major<\/em>, with some really exceptional trumpet playing.<\/p>\n

\"VAUGHAN
VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: The Lark Ascending. Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis. ELGAR: Serenade for Strings Op. 20. Chanson de matin Op. 15 No. 2. Chanson de nuit Op. 15 No. 1. In Moonlight arr. Julian Milone. Salut d\u2019amour Op. 12. Introduction and Allegro Op. 47. Pinchas Zukerman, violin and viola. Royal Philharmonic Orchestra\/Pinchas Zukerman. Decca 478 9386. Total Time: 71:52.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If Zukerman\u2019s romantic approach to baroque music is not to your taste, you might try his new CD with the RPO, which is devoted to genuinely romantic music by Vaughan Williams and Elgar. Zukerman has a real affinity for this music and with the RPO in top form, some of these performances could hardly be surpassed. Elgar\u2019s wonderful Introduction and Allegro Op. 47, one of the greatest pieces in the repertoire for string orchestra, has rarely been played with this degree of virtuosity, beauty of tone, and clarity of texture.<\/p>\n

Elgar\u2019s “Chanson de matin” has always had a special place in my memory bank. It was the theme music for an old CBC Radio late-night program called Music at the Close.<\/em> I loved going to sleep with this program as a kid, and the beautiful theme music was an important part of the experience. Zukerman and the RPO give it an affectionate performance. Also included is part of the slow middle section (\u201cIn Moonlight\u201d) from Elgar\u2019s concert overture In the South<\/em>. Zukerman plays the melancholy viola solo with an ideal fullness of expression.<\/p>\n

Vaughan Williams\u2019 The Lark Ascending<\/em> is a gorgeously evocative piece for violin and orchestra, and Zukerman does it proud. In the program booklet, Tully Potter reminds us that Zukerman first recorded this piece in 1973 with Barenboim conducting. At the time, Zukerman didn\u2019t know The Lark Ascending<\/em> and learned it overnight for the recording.<\/p>\n

The Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis<\/em> is another stellar performance. Vaughan Williams cleverly uses two string orchestras and a string quartet to provide variety in the string sonorities, and with a master string player like Zukerman on the podium, the composer\u2019s vision could hardly be in better hands. This is great string playing. Recording producer Philip Traugott and his team deserve enormous credit for the rich sound they captured from Zukerman and the RPO in Cardogan Hall, London. Incidentally, Traugott was also the recording producer on a \u201cBaroque Treasury.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more Record Keeping see,\u00a0HERE<\/a><\/span>.<\/h3>\n

#LUDWIGVAN<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Want more updates on Toronto-centric classical music news and review\u00a0before anyone else finds out? Get our exclusive newsletter\u00a0here<\/a><\/span>\u00a0and follow us on\u00a0Facebook<\/a><\/span>\u00a0for all the latest.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two releases by the National Arts Centre Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra show Pinchas Zukerman can play just about anything.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":39034,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5723,77,5739,51,52],"tags":[4075,5850,4076,6421],"yst_prominent_words":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2016\/10\/81WLnn7uiCL._SL1425_.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-a9y","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39032"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39032"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39032\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39042,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39032\/revisions\/39042"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39032"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=39032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}