CD Review
Various composers: In Portrait (Some Memories of a Quiet Magician)
- Composer
- Various (Beethoven, Bach, Sarasate, Paganini and Milstein's own arrangements)
- Artist
- Nathan Milstein, violin; Georges Pludermacher, piano, a Christopher Nupen film
- Label
- The Christopher Nupen Films / Allegro
- Catalogue
- A 06CND
- Reviewed by
- Anne McAlister
Nathan Milstein, one of the twentieth century’s greatest violinists, was notoriously publicity-shy. By the time he eventually agreed to allow his friend Christopher Nupen to film a concert, he was 82 years old, and a further three years elapsed before he permitted filmed interviews with Nupen to go ahead.
The concert came close to being cancelled, as Milstein was suffering from a swollen first finger on his left hand on the day of performance; however, by dint of completely reworking his fingerings (a lifelong habit in any case to keep his music-making fresh) he was able to go ahead and play. Georges Pludermacher accompanied him in repertoire ranging from Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata to music by Sarasate, Paganini and Milstein’s own arrangements, and the results were stunning.
Nupen was doubly fortunate in that this legendary recital turned out to be Milstein’s last, due to a hand injury suffered later. With the wealth of material available Nupen was able to make two portrait films, interleaving interviews with Milstein (and others) with footage from the concert. The second disc contains the complete Kreutzer Sonata and a wonderfully muscular yet moving performance of the Chaconne from Bach’s D minor Partita.
Violin fans should not miss this opportunity to see this unassuming musician at his best.
About the violinist
Nathan Milstein was born in Odessa in 1903 and taken on as a pupil by the legendary teacher Leopold Auer at the St Petersburg Conservatory at just eleven years old. He toured the Soviet Union through the 1920s in frequent joint recitals with the pianist Vladimir Horowitz, whom he’d met in Kiev in 1921, before both men left Russia together for a Western European concert tour in 1925, a trip neither would return from. Milstein settled first in Paris and later the United States, making his American debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski in 1929 and going on to build one of the twentieth century’s most enduring solo careers, largely on the strength of exactly the unshowy, long-serving artistry this late-career film captures.
A note on this page
Originally published by Anne McAlister, recovered from mmmusic's own archive and reproduced here as the critic wrote it.
Questions about this recording
Why did it take so long for this film to be made?
Nathan Milstein was notoriously publicity-shy. He was 82 before he agreed to let his friend Christopher Nupen film a concert, and a further three years passed before he permitted filmed interviews to go ahead.
What happened on the day of the recital?
The concert nearly had to be cancelled, Milstein was suffering from a swollen first finger on his left hand, but by reworking his fingerings on the spot (a lifelong habit to keep his playing fresh) he was able to perform.
Was this really Milstein's last recital?
Yes, Nupen was doubly fortunate that this filmed concert turned out to be Milstein's last, after a hand injury he suffered later ended his performing career.
What's on the two discs?
Two portrait films interleaving interviews with Milstein (and others) with concert footage; the second disc includes the complete Kreutzer Sonata and the Chaconne from Bach's D minor Partita.
