Hi everyone. Hope you are well and staying isolated. Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak to a long time friend who has a classical radio program in Cleveland and is quite expert in Classical music. I asked for a recommendation for Brahms Violin Concerto, the "usual suspects" aside. His recommendation was Ginette Neveu. Miss Neveu, a French violinist, passed away in 1949 at age 30, the victim of a plane crash. There is a recording of her performances of the Brahms and Sibelius concertos on QoBuz that have been remastered and processed. Fidelity is good for a 1946 recording; mono of course. The performance is wonderful. Let us know what you think.
Ginette Neveu - French Violinist
- Thread starter rsorren1
- Start date
thank you for the recommendation.
been listening for the last 30 minutes and really enjoying it. i don't claim any sort of classical music expertise, but i listen to lots of violin concerto's and string quartets and her playing is wonderful......it transcends the media limitations......the musical power comes all the way through.
on Quboz it is a 24/96 transfer and it does have a nice delicacy and nuance with plenty of tonal sparkle and magic even with such an old recording.
been listening for the last 30 minutes and really enjoying it. i don't claim any sort of classical music expertise, but i listen to lots of violin concerto's and string quartets and her playing is wonderful......it transcends the media limitations......the musical power comes all the way through.
on Quboz it is a 24/96 transfer and it does have a nice delicacy and nuance with plenty of tonal sparkle and magic even with such an old recording.
The Kogan followed by the Oistrakh are fantastic. I own the Oistrakh original because the Kogan is mega 1000s
Ginette Neveu is one of our (my wife and my) favorite violinist. She recorded for EMI, where the Brahms concerto from 1946 is from. All of her EMI recordings were rereleased in an EMI four record box set in the '70's which includes the 1946 Brahms Concerto and her Sibelius Concerto.
However the album is misnamed, because there are late non EMI recordings of IMHO her greatest performances, live performances of the Brahms Violin Concerto done in 1948 and the Beethoven Violin Concerto done only a month before her untimely death in 1949. I have recordings of both on vinyl. I am partial to the Brahms, which has superb sonics for its era - release on STIL is the best sonically that I have found.
The 1949 Beethoven Concerto was actually chosen by the great Latvian violinist Gidon Kremer who was given a large number of recordings of the Beethoven to choose his favorite (he has recorded the Beethoven several times) and he chose the 1949 Neveu - even though it was not among the many great recordings given him.
This is my copy, from a company called ERA. It has both the 1948 Brahms and 1949 Beethoven. I very much prefer the sound quality of the STIL release of the Brahms to this one. I don't have any other release of the Beethoven. Of course all these are mono recordings. Neveu is said to have told her mother (IIRC) in 1948 that she was reaching a new level in her playing, far exceeding anything that she had previously achieved.
I think these 1948 and 1949 recording must be available digitally, but I have no experience with those.
The great story of Ginette Neveu was when she was 15 she entered the first Wieniawski Violin Competition in Warsaw in 1935 (which was to become the most prestigious violin competition in the world). She was given no chance to win because the favorite was the 27 year old David Oistrakh! Nevertheless Neveu won, with Oistrakh placing second. For many years Oistrakh recordings listed him as winning the Wieniawski competition (I actually have a couple of Oistrakh records that say that). Finally, they admitted the truth that Neveu won.
Larry
However the album is misnamed, because there are late non EMI recordings of IMHO her greatest performances, live performances of the Brahms Violin Concerto done in 1948 and the Beethoven Violin Concerto done only a month before her untimely death in 1949. I have recordings of both on vinyl. I am partial to the Brahms, which has superb sonics for its era - release on STIL is the best sonically that I have found.
The 1949 Beethoven Concerto was actually chosen by the great Latvian violinist Gidon Kremer who was given a large number of recordings of the Beethoven to choose his favorite (he has recorded the Beethoven several times) and he chose the 1949 Neveu - even though it was not among the many great recordings given him.
This is my copy, from a company called ERA. It has both the 1948 Brahms and 1949 Beethoven. I very much prefer the sound quality of the STIL release of the Brahms to this one. I don't have any other release of the Beethoven. Of course all these are mono recordings. Neveu is said to have told her mother (IIRC) in 1948 that she was reaching a new level in her playing, far exceeding anything that she had previously achieved.
I think these 1948 and 1949 recording must be available digitally, but I have no experience with those.
The great story of Ginette Neveu was when she was 15 she entered the first Wieniawski Violin Competition in Warsaw in 1935 (which was to become the most prestigious violin competition in the world). She was given no chance to win because the favorite was the 27 year old David Oistrakh! Nevertheless Neveu won, with Oistrakh placing second. For many years Oistrakh recordings listed him as winning the Wieniawski competition (I actually have a couple of Oistrakh records that say that). Finally, they admitted the truth that Neveu won.
Larry
Thanks everyone! I really enjoyed the QoBuz version of her Brahms concerto. No doubt she had once in a lifetime talent. I must listen to her Sibelius Concerto next.
Absolutely wonderful. Thanks so much for passing this along. I've had the chance to listen to her Sibelius concerto from QoBuz and her performance is as good as I've ever heard. Again, sound quality is not bad for a recording from the late 1940s. She is so captivating from the first notes that I forgot about the quality of the recording almost instantly.
Yes, your memory is correct. I just googled Neveu Desormier Tahra and there is a 3 CD set that has Neveu playing the Brahms in '48, in addition to the Schmidt-Isserstedt conducted version. The one Amazon reviewer likes the Desormier version the best, although the recording has some distortions. I've never heard it. Thanks, Larry
Hello!
Among several recordings, Neveu's stille comes to mind. This one is indeed one favorite of mine. I have only a later transfer on cd, also here coupled with the Sibelius concerto. Although not hifi sound, I am happy to maximize the listening pleasure by means of my Quad 44 preamplifier, using the 7k or 5k frequency reduction along with its slopes, so very good sound.
Best regards, Margido
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