Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto- Virtuosic Performance by Jim Thomasson on the Strad 2.0

[Garritan]

Here is the entire first and second movements of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto performed by Jim Thomasson. Jim previously did just the first movement witht he previous version and here he has done both movements using the latest version of the Stradivari Solo Violin.

When written in 1878 by Piotr Ilic Tchaikovsky, this concerto was deemed "impossible" by peers and went unplayed for many years to Tchaikovsky's dismay. Now it is part of the repertoire among violin virtuosos.

Jim shows us the versatility and playability of the Stradivari as he shapes notes and phrases,You will hear the digging attacks, the bow bouncing off the string, the characteristic slides between notes, controlled mastery of vibrato, the wide range of dynamics - virtuosity not possible before with a sampled solo stringed instrument.

This is a major undertaking - 33 minutes of music - 22 minutes long for the first movement ands 11 minutes for the second movement.

Movement #1 - Violin Concerto, for Violin & Orchestra in D major, Op. 35 (http://www.garritan.com/Strad/TchaikowskyOpus35-Mov1-Strad2.01.mp3) by Piotr Ilic Tchaikovsky
http://www.garritan.com/Strad/TchaikowskyOpus35-Mov1-Strad2.01.mp3

Movement #2 - Violin Concerto, for Violin & Orchestra in D major, Op. 35 (http://www.garritan.com/Strad/TchaikowskyOpus35-Mov2-Strad2.01.mp3) by Piotr Ilic Tchaikovsky
http://www.garritan.com/Strad/TchaikowskyOpus35-Mov2-Strad2.01.mp3

Any comments are welcomed as always.

Thanks Jim for doing this. This is a stunning achievement!

Gary Garritan

[etLux]

Absolutely stunning!

A major undertaking, Jim; and superbly realized with
consummate musicianship and skill. Not solely a
showcase for technology; but likewise a tour de
force in conducting and interpreting this grand work.

Bravo!

With great admiration,



David
www.DavidSosnowski.com
.

[Hannes_F]

Any comments are welcomed as always.


Why so mucho attacco? This is irrittating.

Other than that very interesting.


Hannes

[jonray]

Jim,
Wow - a massive undertaking. Unbelievable that a sampled violin can get to sound like this. I don't think there's any product worldwide to rival what can be done with this instrument. What fantastic expression you coaxed out of it.

Well done on a truly remarkable achievement.
Jon

[SeanHannifin]

A deserving bump...

This is wonderful! Astounding job, Jim, what an undertaking! Tchaikovsky's beautiful sense of melody in this piece always gives me goosebumps... what a brilliant piece, brought to life by you and the Strad... amazing!! )(~ This is truly superb! :eek: )(~

[Leaf]

Thanks for bumping it, Sean. I must have missed it first time around, but now I'm enjoying and i agree, absolutely astounding. Thanks Jim for the concert, what a performance, amazing.

David

[Infinite5ths]

Why so slooooooow??? I've NEVER heard the Tchaik that slow...

[dermod]

It is important to differentiate between what the strad can do, and somebody's personal approach to performing a particular piece of music. The violin sounds as if it is being played with a pick axe. But if you want that effect, it is obviously there. The work that has gone into this is to be congratulated though. And it takes grit to try something different.

[Raymond62]

Too slow. I have a version of the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, solo Vladimir Spivakov which only lasts about 7 minutes.

Raymond

[Infinite5ths]

OK...just to be fair, I should do some explaining. I am a classical violinist (most of you probably already know this) of 20+ years. I've heard a LOT of the Tchaik (live and recorded).

So far, the only complaints have been about harshness (and tempo). Well....this is not a surprise. You should read one of the original critic's reviews about this concerto when it was first released. There was a quote that said something to the effect of "the violin is beaten black and blue".

However, given a fast enough tempo and a big enough hall/ambience, most of this 'grit' turns into a pleasant (and necessary) articulation that actually helps the performance to shine. My violin professor (world-famous guy from a major music school) once told me about a live performance of this concerto by Nathan Milstein -- one of the greatest violinists in history. Charlie (my prof) said that Nathan evidently got lost in the middle of the 3rd movement. Apparently he just adjusted his bow so that he got a maximum of articulation and minimum of real tone....and just kept going until he found his place (then slowly re-adjusted). According to Charlie, anyone from the 10th row back would never have known anything went wrong. [And that report is coming from a guy who has won major international awards.]

So my suggestion is that you speed it up and place the performance in a slightly bigger and more ambient room. You might like the results.

Then again, it is your performance, so what do I know......