In his lifetime, Jascha Heifetz was just as famous as Fritz Kreisler for making violin and piano transcriptions of other composers' works, primarily to be used as encores and recital filler. With the exception of his Gershwin transcriptions, however, Heifetz's don't seem to be as widely used or recorded as Kreisler's, partly because of their technical challenges. Rouben Aharonian, first violin of the Borodin Quartet, gives us an entire disc devoted to Heifetz's virtuosic transcriptions, from Bach to Prokofiev. Aharonian has ...
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In his lifetime, Jascha Heifetz was just as famous as Fritz Kreisler for making violin and piano transcriptions of other composers' works, primarily to be used as encores and recital filler. With the exception of his Gershwin transcriptions, however, Heifetz's don't seem to be as widely used or recorded as Kreisler's, partly because of their technical challenges. Rouben Aharonian, first violin of the Borodin Quartet, gives us an entire disc devoted to Heifetz's virtuosic transcriptions, from Bach to Prokofiev. Aharonian has impeccable technique and is highly capable of making the most of these pieces. There are many unexpected sounds, from the strumming chords in Albéniz's Sevillana to the knocking on the violin's body in Khachaturian's Sabre Dance, in addition to the usual fireworks of harmonics, double and triple stops, and semi-improvisational cadenzas. The Bach, and to some extent the Weber and Mozart, are more Romantic sounding than their originals, particularly because of Aharonian's rich tone,...
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