#max rostal

Monique HAAS & Max ROSTAL : Maurice RAVEL "Sonata for Violin and Piano (II) - Blues. Moderato" (1958).

This is my last and final post of Artist of the Month. It's been fun, however, this is it. I have other things to focus on after this, like my oral exams, remaining comp exams, and my recital on May 2. Holy crap, so many things! Well, here is it, enjoy this last horrah from me on this subject matter!

Max Rostal...who's that? A violinist!!! (duh!) Well, he's a 20th century violinist and violist. Yes, he joined the dark side and played viola as well. But all I read about him is about his violin playing. He's More importantly, his specialty is 20th century music on the violin. Look up his info (thank you Wikipedia). He studied under Carl Flesh (who is known today for writing his famous blue scale book that a lot us violinist use today). He made premier recordings for contemporary composers and is known for his recording of Bartok's Violin Concerto No. 2 which unfortunately, I couldn't find an online recording to show, maybe y'all can look it up and find it, but have a listen, it's great. In Britain, he is acclaimed for his sweet, transparent tone, rhythmic drive and incisive attack. Cool stuff...

He was ultimately the Professor of the Berne Conservatory and produced many good pupils (some of which were from the Amadeus Quartet). So yes, he's legit.

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/max-rostal#ixzz1JoREveV6

But on here, I want to do a little comparison. Of his sound from a classical piece, contemporary piece, and a romantic like the Korngold in this recording:

Here's apparently a rare recording of him playing the Korngold in Berlin in 1924. This is definitely from his younger days and it's a great video as well with pictures of him and his records...take a listen!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPHKbewdyM4

Or how about this of the Tartini Concerto in G minor...let's go to something more classical...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IIYn1zSfO0&feature=related

Very bright sounded indeed! He seems very careful with his sound. Definitely has the fast vibrato which seems to be very typical of the old Russian style of playing. Definitely a lot more mature from his earlier recording, just in his musicality!

Finally, one of my favorite pieces (and movements): The Ravel Sonata No. 1 II: Blues

He's known for his playing in 20th century music, and well, to by honest, it really shows in his interpretation of this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lv51XiXYkOI