Brahms, Tchaikovsky: Violin Concertos / Heifetz, Reiner CD

 A musical delight!
I have been a Tchaikovski fan since my pre teen years so when I found the Violin Concerto in D played by Jascha Heifetz I bought it, that was in early 1958! I am happy to report that today (Sept '05) it is everything I remember, only much much better. Gone are the clicks,pops,and surface noises from my old "Hi Fi", now I just here amazingly clear open fresh, as if I were there sound, from this three channel recording. Thanks to the foresight of RCA's '50,s recording engineers and the wonders of the SACD with its multi channel playback the sweet sound of Jascha Heifetz's violin appears "live" in your home. I could not keep from grinning as beautiful full sound of the CSO and that awesome violin started pouring into my ears. What a treat! I am not a music critic, nor do I have a musical background, but I do know what I like. Jascha Heifetz & the CSO recorded the best interpetation of Tchaikovski's Violin Concerto that I have heard and on SACD it is emotional, dynamic, sweet, and alive. As for the Brahms, his Violin Concerto is not my favorite. Recorded in 1955 in two channel stereo, though good, the performance and sound both pale compared to the Tchaikovski (my opinon). If you want some wonderful music and to be blown away by some half century old recording technoledgy, buy this SACD.
Submitted by Don (Jacobstown, NJ) 
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 Enter Hitch
Hitchcock once confided in a letter: how wonderful it would be to manipulate the audience's reactions simply by way of channeling them with the support of an appropriate technology.Well,it has nothing to do with technology:one should just listen to Heifetz's cadenza in the Brahms concerto; the way each gesture sounds touches the limits of the art. Moreover, contra some critics who feel that Reiner's conducting feels distant, or heavy-handed, here we have a robust and well-poised Brahms which is, the least to say, a fresh perspective.
Submitted by sandover (Athens, Greece)
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 There is no better version
Both for the Brahms and the Tschaikowsky Violin Concertos, in my view the versions by Jascha Heifetz are still the best, and so is Fritz Reiner“s and the Chicago Symphony“s orchestral support -- and all this in an excellent remastering.- This record is simply indispensable.-
Submitted by truderic (Montevideo, Uruguay)
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