Kreisler: Aucassin and Nicolette (canzonetta medievale)

“Kreisler's golden sound and inimitable sense of timing remains unequalled in these sweetmeats. One barely notices the inevitable surface noise of these fine transfers.” BBC Music Magazine, March 2013 *****

“Leonidas Kavakos's Kreisler is authentic in the best meaning of that term, namely a keen approximation both of the music's spirit and of the composer's inimitable playing style. Few Kreisler recitals have recalled, in so much minute detail, the warmth, elegance and gentlemanly musical manners of the master himself. It was an inspired idea to open the programme with that nostalgic evocation of Old Vienna, the eight-minute VienneseRhapsodic Fantasietta, a Korngold sound-alike that can't waltz without smiling wistfully or even shedding the odd tear. Kavakos has mastered that lilting 3/4 to a T. His tone is uncannily familiar – cooler and less vibrant perhaps than Kreisler's own during the earlier part of his recording career but with a similarly consistent (though never overbearing) vibrato. But don't imagine that these performances are mere imitations: an individual personality does come through, it's just that a Kreislerian accent has become part of the mix – at least for the purposes of this recital. The programme has been very well chosen, ending with what are surely Kreisler's three most famous miniatures – Liebesleid, Liebesfreud and Caprice viennois. The Slavonic Fantasie after Dvorák is among the most interesting, incorporating as it does the first of the four RomanticPieces. Cyril Scott's Lotus Land is haunting and exotic, while Kreisler's own Zigeuner-capriccio provides a fine example of Kavakos's slightly melancholy puckishness. Péter Nagy's stylish accompaniments add yet more flavour to the menu.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Years of encores have guaranteed the cult longevity of Kreisler's music – certainly among violinists. Kreisler's disc consists of his own pieces and a large number of arrangements.
Some of the latter are pretty feeble musically, yet the great violinist's unique artistry and magical tone-quality shine through. Sometimes he doesn't land right in the middle of a note, but always plays with the timing and phrasing of a great singer. Nothing is routine or set in his playing, which has a continual feeling of discovery and freshness. The transfers are excellent.
Joshua Bell learned Kreisler from his teacher, the late Josef Gingold, yet his approach is anything but 'old school'. He habitually avoids the pitfalls of imitation, flashiness and patronising overkill, preferring instead to revisit the music with modern ears. His Caprice viennois is lightyears removed from the composer's own, a fresh-faced, strongly characterised reading that trades sentimentality for just a hint of jazz. And there's that inseparable twosome, Liebesfreud and Liebesleid, the latter displaying Bell's tone at its most alluring. The longest piece here is the Praeludium and Allegro in the style of Pugnani which he gives the full treatment, deftly pointing the Allegro, relishing passagework and double- stopping with impressive accuracy. Some pieces seem indivisible from Kreisler's own very individual tone and phrasing, Polichinelle, for example, and Marche miniature viennoise, both of which paraded the sort of personalised rubato, timing and tone-production that have for so long seemed part of the music's very essence.
Bell's smooth, witty and keenly inflected readings make for elevated entertainment: they may not replace the composer's own, but they do provide a youthful and in many ways illuminating alternative. The recordings are excellent, but Coker's fine accompaniments occasionally seem overprominent.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010