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, which the sound of the recording brings out nicely.
Aharonian, otherwise, does his best to capture the spirit of the original works. Even though he frequently gives these intensity and energy, there is still a formality to many of them. In the
Gershwin Preludes and the "Braziliera" from
Milhaud's Scaramouche, he leaves all the swing and jazz to the pianist, Svetlana Safonova. Even the Weber Rondo has some offbeat emphases that seem to be smoothed out by both
Aharonian and Safonova. Sevillana is vigorous, but he plays the improvisational-like passages fairly straight, with little drama and rubato. The sentimental favorites Alt Wien and Estrellita are better, but in general, he could stand to loosen up a little.
Heifetz's transcriptions are violin showpieces, but
Aharonian could have a little more fun with them and still show off his formidable talent.