Sibelius Violin Concerto: Which one is better?

Jean Sibelius
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
Violin Concertos
Sarah Chang, violin
Berliner Philharmoniker
Mariss Jansons







Sibelius: Violin Concerto
Bruch: Scottish Fantasy
Midori (Goto), violin
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
Zubin Mehta, conductor.







Asian performers came relatively "late", around 80s to 90s. The world first got noticed of a conducting wunderkind Seiji Ozawa when he took command of Boston Symphony Orchestra in the 70s. Later on, cellist Yo Yo Ma took the world by storm and by 21st century, steady new generation of Asian musicians emerged among them Lang Lang, Yundi Li, Akiko Suwanai, Jian Wang etc. But these performers I'm reviewing today are American-based Asian violinists, both of them gifted, sensational stars in their own right. Both learned in Juilliard School and students of an influential teacher, Dorothy DeLay who also taught Ithzak Perlman. Damn, both too won Avery Fischer Prize which is awarded to only one musician a year. So both of them have loads in common. The playing? That is why my emphasis in this review is on the Sibelius Violin Concerto.

Sarah Chang's Sibelius was recorded around 1998, if I'm not mistaken she was still pretty much a young urn at that time. As for Midori, she's far more mature by the time she recorded the album around year 2000. The differences are striking. Chang performed at the Philharmonie, Berlin - very problematic location and a nightmare for sound engineers. Her technique is no objection, but tone projection fares just average. Also almost every attempt at vibrato sounds tacky and the first movement, which the interpretation plays big part here comes across a bit tad mushy. Despite some stunning technical fireworks at the conclusion of first movement and impressive bow attacks at third movement, the whole work isn't much of a success. On the contrary with Midori's performance, the Tel Aviv hall doesn't pose much problems as the Philharmonie do with details of the orchestral backing much clearer and there's good balance between Midori and Mehta's Israeli band. Midori's sweet, caressing tone tackles the score quite sensually without slightest attempt as to make her interpretation "stand out". In short, she isn't quite as desperate as her younger colleague Chang in order to make a statement about the Sibelius concerto.

Obviously you will need to listen versions from David Oistrakh, Ruggiero Ricci, and the benchmark Jascha Heifetz performances to know the concerto better. It's a shame on me not having witnessed the Heifetz yet because I missed the last copy sold at Tower, only to be replaced with the SACD version. Sarah Chang isn't an overhyped performer and Yehudi Menuhin's superlative verdict on her being "most perfect" sounds a little bit over-the-top considering other talents out there like Vadim Repim and Gil Shaham, but the recording above proves a lesson the Sibelius isn't merely virtuoso showpiece like Paganini or Mozart concertos. Chang will come to Malaysia will Oslo Philharmonic to perform the Sibelius again and I hope her interpretation on the concerto has "improved", so to say. Midori's Scottish Fantasy is my only exposure to a Bruch masterpiece other than his one-hit-wonder (you know what I mean) and it's a warm, heartful interpretation just like the Sibelius. As for Chang's Mendelssohn, safe to say you can pass the CD and get her better ones, like the Goldmark and R.Strauss Concertos.

Sarah Chang:

Technical: 8
Interpretation: 6
Recording: 7

Midori:

Technical: 8
Interpretation: 8
Recording: 8