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From: aimson
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  • "Il rito di un incantesimo attorno al fuoco...". Ginette Neveu fa risaltare con una sonorità a volte tagliente e luminosa come un laser, a volte levigata ma granitica, tutto il variegato cromatismo di questa difficilissima composizione, accentuando con stile raffinato sia gli accordi acidi e taglienti, sia i passaggi suadenti e ipnotici, invitanti come ... un corteggiamento amoroso !!!

  • she died with Edith Piaf's lover

    what a shame...

  • She have something that won't find in Heifetz:D but i proud all of them.

  • Neveu was argueably the most compelling and famous woman violinist of the 20th Century. Her playing was marked by heart, passion, and tone. Perhaps she was eccentric and indulged herself interpretively. But she was one of the greatest  of the 20th Century nontheless and mesmerizing on stage. Thank you for this recording.

  • is this live record? and what happened 2:08

  • is this live record?

  • Oistrakh said..."she is devilishly talented..."

  • Dla mnie Geniusze !!!! Extra !!!

  • So much energy and anger. I love her.

  • TREMENDOUS performance.....possibly the best I've heard of this work. (And yeah--I've got Perlman & Grumiaux in the competition here)

  • That is remarkable. You could say someone played it better but i think you would be paranoid.

  • @scottydscottd Can you play it for us instead criticizing? Maybe your interpretation sounds better?

  • "She is all but forgotten" is a very unfair comment. She died young but was as much successful than Heifetz and Kreisler, in her days. In four years(!945-49) she conquered the world and was a huge star in America, Europe England and Australia!!!

  • This is one of the true great interpretations of Ravel's Tzigane...live, 1946 in Carnegie Hall, Charles Munch conducting. Neveu always takes big risks while playing and was an undisputed outstanding performer. Powerful and sensous... Oistrach did wrote to his wife in 1935 after the famous Wieniawski competition about Neveu's performances "That no one can dispute her having win the first prize, she is immensely talented" Ref: David Oistrach, Artist of the people.

  • There is definitely a reason why Oistrakh's name continues to live on and she is all but forgotten. Oistrakh's performance of this piece isn't exactly the greatest, but it's much livelier. Heifetz & Rabin play Tzigane as it ought to be played; like a gypsy piece, and that's all Ravel meant it to be.

  • My word! The leonine power this woman has,

    it is a synthesis of femininity and ferociousness.

    I love it!

  • âme au ciel! a tant offert de son talent,force tendresse et génie!

  • J'ai vu sa tombe au Père Lachaise.

    Quel génie

  • Her emotional latitude is so enormous and to think she was so young makes her all the more remarkable.

    God given sensitivity and talent.

  • Edith Piaf wrote "I would have traveled thousands of miles to hear the great Ginette..."

  • And Ginette Neveu happened to die in the same airplane accident that killed Piaf's lover, french boxer Marcel Cerdan...

  • @kidamnesiac35 -Marcel Cerdan-for those that do not know,was one of the finest middle weight boxers of all time.

  • She Merited to win and in front of Oistrach;When she is playing is a human voice .

    Something to mention:she worked at Paris conservatory with Jules Bouherit ,a friend of Jacques Thibaud,Alfred Cortot...

    His wife was the great violinist Denise Soriano who was his pupil also.

    And she was my teacher for 5 years!A great musicien,when she was playing,the violin had a soul!!I thank her for her lessons...

    poicpi

  • According to Henry Roth, the noted auther and violinist, that same jury ranked Ida Haendel (a 7 year old girl) ahead of Bronislaw Gimpel a 24 year old violinist and fabulous musician. the jury was whacked Im afraid.

  • she's got balls..

  • Fantastica!

  • Quelle violence et même quelle sauvagerie dans cette interprétation bouleversante. Inégalable

  • merci

  • That's AMAZING ¡¡¡ what an incredible vibrato ... BRAVO ¡¡¡

  • Glorious!  Brava! TY.

  • this playing of her reminds me of Bashmet's viola.

  • what beutifull violin sound

  • 3:43?

  • Enchanting!

  • Comment removed

  • exciting and haunting at the same time! i love it!

  • Wow. She is truly one of the greatest violinists of the twentieth century.

  • 2:10?

  • wow!! she was fantastic!!! so sad how shes died though

  • I love her sound so much. Its just really sad how she died in such a tragic moment...T_T I cant seem to get a sound similar to hers, even if I practise lots! She really is amazing...!

  • Ravel was a marvel as he wrote some of the most imaginative and creative works--what a composer! And she was a remarkable and intense violinist, so much I love about her style. If any one has it Francescatti does an astounding performance of this--have not heard it in a long time but it is nothing short of remarkable--I think it was on Columbia, I think his ending with the harmonic portion probably had the most clarity of any I have heard

  • Quelle poésie, cette femme est vraiment exceptionnelle. Quelle énergie sur chaque note ! .. C'est vraiment fabuleux.

  • there's no such thing as the perfect music, it's different for everybody, so i don't understand why evryone fights because of it. anyway, for me this is an excellent interpretation of the song.

  • She brings the notes to life so warmly and elegantly. I'd trade all the power in the world for that kind of treatment.

  • I think that is what makes a great soloist work so hard to achieve.

    I also wish I could play it like in this recording.

    There's alot of perfection in this recording, which perfectionist players do not supply.

  • She plays this so well! Its so sad how she died in such an accident...and atsuch a young age!! I remember playing this piece last year, and I thought it wasn't too bad, before I listened to this recording...which is simply breathtaking..

  • An extremely personal interpretation of Ravel.

  • It is not the first time when we see indecent comments here , on the pages of great masters! People , please , this is disrespectfull and annoying! Please go on porn sites and comment there , these pages are for people who have a culture and show respect for true values! Thank you!

  • im trying to figure out how to describe this piece. its so powerful and breath taking. but i cant decide if its sad or not. its amazing!

  • Goddess of violin... And it also feels good to see that there are not only men among the great violonists of the 20th century:)-as I am a woman too. Her sound is rich,powerfull, intense.So much passion.

  • This is my favorite!

  • She die on a plane crash, it is said that Ginette Neveu's body was found still clutching her Stradivarius in her arms.

  • Her violin, in other words. x]

  • does anyone know where can I download ravel tzigane's music sheet for the piano and violin?

  • What is that disturbing bell-like sound at 3:45 ?? Is this an ultra-mean sound-watermark or what ? So we buy the CD to get rid of it ?

  • amazing!!!! so much energy

  • amazing.

  • she was 15 when she won!

  • fabulous tzigane

  • i like it very much, but it is really not that, what ravel wrote concerning the rhythm!i think he ment, that the beginning is in tempo!

  • and who cares?

  • I can just about sit still enough to post this message listening to this fabulous tzigane. Makes me want to dance. Anyone know if she recorded other Ravel pieces?

  • amazing interpretation!!

    Thanks for sharing

  • this is by far my favorite interpretation.

  • Wow

  • albachteng you are my kind of commenter/ recording listener

    Anyways, this is unbelievable, I can only imagine what she could have done if she did not pass away so early... it just makes me shudder- can't you just feel the huge energy looming out from the computer- sorry about the zen but it's there

  • ...1919-1949.....what a tragedy..killed in an air crash in the Azores, on the same flight was Cerdan, the famous French boxer....on the second try at landing, the plane crashed into a mountain....killing all aboard..her body was found, clutching her Strad.

  • This version of Tzigane takes my breath away every time I hear it!

  • this is crazy. i like it

  • want to DIE

  • This takes my breath away. I cry every time I hear it.

  • Neveu's playing here displays her enormous talent. Fabulous role model! Thank you so much for posting this recording!!

  • i think what makes her performance here amazing is not so much the intonation (although incredible), but rather the subtle use of dynamics and accents to make a truly intense sound. magnificent

  • unglaublich!

  • I never heared such a perfect intonation; this is more than great; unbelivable!

  • In this case, vou have a lot in common with this recording; you're not perfect too.

  • This recording has conceptual perfection which they did not have.

  • Perfection is a mathematical term which has little in common with art. Aiming for perfection would result in all violinists, sharing that same goal, playing the exact same thing !!

    One got computers for that, so why bother ?

  • But there is the technical perfection that all violinists want to have.After technique comes the interpertation that is where the art begins.

  • I think while there is some sense in this, technique in itself should be somewhat subjective. All the great artists of the past have had individual techniques closely intertwined with their interpretive senses.

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  • She's unique...thank you aimson!

  • the best ive ever seen live is still gilles apap. this recording is SO INTENSE! i like it a lot though

  • SUPERB!!

    Unsurpassed till today

  • I see some discussion on the subject: "best of all times".

    I can safely say I enjoy Oistrakh immensely. But I also love Ginette Neveu. Heifetz is simply phenomenal in some pieces, simply put perfection!

    No one (in my eyes/ears beats Leonid Kogans Carmen!

    Menuhins Chaconne is divine. Szeryng is the master of Bach!

    I can go on...But you get the picture, don´t you?

    All are great artists of the violin!

  • I agree; it's useless to waste time arguing over who is best - it is, to a large extent a matter of the piece and personal preferences. (i like nadja solerno sonnenberg)

  • you're absolutely right

  • Such a tragic end to what would have been a beautiful career for Neveu. Mindblowing performance.

  • this is too much to ignore, i was trying to study while listening to it;i cant:ITS TOO EMOTIONAL and STRONG

  • Heh, you study to classical music? I have an easier time studying to loud rock than classical because it is better "background music." You are right though, it takes too much emotional and intellectual attention to focus on studying while you are trying to listen to the incredibly intense Neveu.

  • I couldn't agree with you more, I can't listen to any classical music while I'm doing any sort of work or I'll get distracted.

  • they took it personally then, that's the difference... music, rather then product heard with digital microphones. do you like music? i don't know, it is so EVERYTHING, it's frightening. they lived it so.

  • I would like respond to the listener who thinks he heard a mistake or 2!! Do you realize this is a live performance? Take your perfection and get a life!

  • I think that talent for each individual is different. The world got child prodigies such as Heifetz, Menuhin, Neveu here who bloomed at an early age however, Oistrakh was someone who didn't reach his full bloom until his late 20s...when he won the Ysaye competition (Now known as Queen Elisabeth competition)....

  • Yeah, that was my point about Oistrakh. I don't think he had as much inborn talent as the others but I admire him for his hard work and musicianship even more so. Not to say that Heifetz didn't have an incredible work ethic but it seems to pale compared to his talent more so than Oistrakh. Just to clarify, Oistrakh was 27 in 1935 and therefore was 29 when winning the Ysaye.

  • I don't know why, but Ginette's playing is so hypnotizing...I loved how she played Chausson poeme... Her eyes were so deep...I liked how Ivry Gitlis talked about her in the film "the art of violin"...:)

  • @aimson... Heifetz is totally my favourite as well, and I think it is great to have all old violinists there are, because every violinist is perfect in his way, which is why I love the old violinists much more than the ones today, because nowadays everyone has to be able to play everything, from Mozart to Winiawski which is stupid, because you cant develope in your special personal way!

  • It si interesting that Oistrakh was not a child prodigy.

  • It's also quite encouraging for most people lol.

  • the story goes that the strad she played, was found after the plane crash she died in in her arms, severely damaged but not irrepairable.

    This version of her playing Ravel I never heard. Thx for sharing!

  • I agree with rule914 that Heifetz is a successful example of a "work ethic"...I love listening to his performances, but sometimes I don't feel "inspired" by his music as I do listening to Oistrakh...Please don't mistake me. Heifetz is world's one of the best, but I am just saying he could be better.

  • Heifetz is fantastic, but he is like a machine...

  • As a professional concert pianist, I'd like to respond to this, but aimson is in the habit of just deleting things that he doesn't agree with or might embarrass him, so it's probably not worth the effort. This is why you see all of these posters slobbering over Niveau: the other side is being censored. I guess we're getting a taste of the politics in the real musical profession!

  • Wow, she is really amazing. I don't think she's in any way better than Oistrakh, but she is pretty damn good. After reading the comments I realized that child prodigism is not completely relevant. I think Oistrakh is one of the greatest violinists of all time (2nd favorite), and if he can achieve what he did through hardwork, then child prodigism is completely unnecessary.

  • Testing.

  • una interpretacion genial!gracias por compartir esta grabacion con nosotros!

  • Grat sound! A TERRIFIC INTERPRETATION!

  • I do not know if it is relevant to let know the listeners that she unfortunately passed much too early in a 1949 plane crash. On the same plane was the famous French boxer Marcel Cerdan close friend of the singer Edith Piaf. Not only both died but the Neveu's Stradivarius was totally destroyed, the only thing that has been found intact was her bow. Do not miss also to listen the Beethoven violin concerto as well as in the Chausson's poem.Commment 2 of 2.

  • Your message brought me here ! Thousands of thanks to you ! All what you said is true, but Marcel Cerdan was much more than a friend of Edith Piaf, all her songs after his death were suffering cries on her lost love.

  • are you sure it was her strad? I beleive she had a guadanini, and I saw once on French TV a scene when a French pianist (bernard ringeissen), coming back from the canary island (where the crash took place) showing to etienne vatelot, the great french violin maker, the scroll of a violin presented as being ginette neveu's violin. Vatelot immediately recognised the scroll and confirmed it was a piece from her Guadanini.

  • Dear Morcosta: Neveu had a Stradivarius, I do not remember which, prestigious violinist had it before her. I have great respect for Etienne Watelot, great mind and was great in restoring violins(for:Isaac Stern).The bow might have been a different maker it is usually the case. Anyhow as you might be aware the authorships of violins by Watelot are now being revised and it seems that the most well known London firm is the definitive authority. It does not diminish the talent of Watelot. Thank you

  • Thank you for posting with wonderful interpretation! After all these years musically Ginette Neveu stays so amazingly actual. Coment 1 of 2

  • I dont think it has to do a lot of about anti-semitism,but more with Oistrach been less ready for competition. If you would read his biography,he was never called most talented student in his early years of life. He had to work a lot to achive great results.

    Her playing is amazing,no wonder she won.

  • Well, Oistrakh was not actually as talented as other great violinists, at least in the pure inborn sense. However, like you say, it was his incredible work ethic and dedication that made him so great. In fact, I have always thought of Oistrakh as the perfect counterpart to Menuhin, who had more pure talent than just about any musician this century. Oistrakh is also great as a role model to other musicians because he proved that talent is not everything. I respect this about him above all else.

  • I absolutely agree with your comment. Hard work sometimes more important than pure talent. It is nice to have some ability to start with,but to be a good(not even great,but good) musician one have to put a lot of work in it.

  • I take great exception to that comment. Who are you to say that Oistrakh, quite arguably the best violinist to ever have lived, didn't have much "inborn" talent. He was not a child prodigy, but he is more musical than any violinist in my opinion. Also, Heifetz is a much better example of a 'work ethic' resulting in great success.

  • You say outrageous things like "Oistrakh was not actually as talented as other great violinists," as though it is a matter of fact. That is your opinion, and I think it's pretty naive. Heifetz is a much better example of one who has achieved fame through arduous practice. Oistrakh was not a child prodigy, but he is an (innately) amazing musician.

  • Of course it's an opinion, just like everything else in art (no such thing as facts when it comes to artistic judgment). When I listen to Oistrakh, I hear his refinement and developed musicianship more so than his talent (the case is opposite for Menuhin). This is not a "naive" or "wrong" opinion any more than the crap you just posted. Either you get the fuck off my channel or stop insulting my honest feelings. I suggest the latter.

  • I agree that Menuhin didn't have great work ethic. But I disagree that Oistrakh was not extremely talented. One doesn't reach his level of musicianship without TONS of talent. Compare his post-1950 recordings to that of Menuhin's and you'd have a hard time believing Menuhin was the prodigy. For me, Heifetz is miles ahead of everyone else. He had the most talent, the harshest work ethic, and studied with the best teacher: Leopold Auer. Remember, "There are violinists, then there is Heifetz."

  • Well, talent is definitely hard to quantify, but Menuhin was probably the greatest child prodigy of this century. He just didn't build his foundation as strongly as Heifetz or Oistrakh, which is why he lost his technique at later years. Obviously Oistrakh is talented, my point is just that I don't think he wasn't quite as talented as some of the other "greats." But I definitely agree with you on Heifetz - there is nobody better.

  • There is nobody better than Oistrakh. He is the greatest of all times because he played true music and he was a true artist and not just a machine. Music is not sport.

  • i agree. he was the true artist.

  • Goodness knows what went on in the heads of judges at the competition.I always love Oistrakh's playing.The booklet with a CD I got of Neveu recently, said that the panel particularly liked her fiery Tzigane in the competition.A friend of mine played in an orchestra when she made the Sibelius recording etc.He thought she was a fantastic player.One can't judge totally by recordings made in vastly different years too.

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  • Then why did he win the Ysaye competition 2 years later when there was even more anti-semitism?

  • Her interpretation isnt the best i've heard, the best recording i've heard of this is actually by Gil Shaham. Off the record first time i saw Neveu's picture i thought she was a man.

  • Yeah, I don't think her interpretation is the best either. Out of all that I've heard, I think I liked Isaac Stern's the best. That's just my own opinion, I don't expect others to necessarily share it.

  • OMG people! What are you talking about? Competitions do not prove ANYTHING! Both Oistrakh and Neveu are great great musicians and each have different interpretations, but it just stupid to say who's 'better'! It's not a sport! Nobody outruns anybody..

    It's a matter of the taste.. Thanx for posting, I love this piece, but is it me or she made couple of mistakes? (or maybe it's just poor recording quality..)

  • Yeah, point well taken - I am not a fan of competitions either. I was just responding to some of the naysayers who think Neveu is a hack and didn't deserve to win because somehow the jury was "rigged" against David Oistrakh. It wasn't true.

  • How can anyone say that Ginette Niveu is "ugly"?

    I have heard Oistrach before and listened to Ginette now. Both are wonderful. Shut your eyes and open your ears, and let the music do the magic.

    R.Nanduri

  • Well, after getting my hands on the complete box set of Ginette Neveu, I can safely say that she was simply a better violinist than Oistrakh at the time. This is not just my opinion either. All of the Oistrakh groupies/fanboys will say everything negative about Neveu to explain why Oistrakh didn't win the competition. You can agree or disagree but the fact is that she won fair and square. End of story.

  • Her stradivarius survived the planecrash, although severely injured, she unfortunately died in....

  • Personally I hate music competitions.I read on the sleeve of my CD of Neveu, that the jury particularly liked her fiery Tzigane. I have always adored Oisatrakh's playing and apparently he was such a genuinely lovely humble person.Obviously the fire did it for her. Personally I like Oistrakh's playing far the best.Superbly beautiful warm tone.A friend of mine played in a London Orchestra at that time. He heard Neveu and thought she was fantastic live.

  • God, their styles are so completely different, it is amazing. While I love Neveu's fire (she is probably the most intense violinist in history) and her personality, I also appreciate Oistrakh's tone (not only is it warm but incredibly smooth and round as well). However, Neveu simply has more character than Oistrakh ever had, which was probably why she was so entrancing in live concerts.

  • I love Oistrakh's Clair de Lune. To me,that proves he was the most superb violinist around.I agree about his incredible smoothness and round.I once heard him play a chamber music together with the fabulous Rostropovitch and others many years ago in London.Both those men produced a superlative tone quality. Talking about Neveu, I do like her Sibelius.

  • OistrakhMilstein, you never have anything positive to say about incredible musicians like Neveu. I hope you fail at life.

  • Oistrakh lost to Ginette Neveu in Wieniawski competition because the jury was anti-semitic. Her win over him isn't credited to her playing by the majority of the musical community

  • Good point. Just curious though, where did you get this information. I have tried researching reasons why Oistrakh didn't win and didn't come across anything about anti-semitism. I certainly find it very very likely though. However, how do you explain Oistrakh winning the Ysaye competition 2 years later? According to Wikipedia, he didn't really become world famous until after winning that competition.

  • that's because wikipedia is a horrible place for information. anywho...i think she performed this very well. personally i like venegrov's interpretation, but she did well.

  • It's funny that you mention wikipedia as being a horrible place for information because every site I found that talked about the Wieniaski competition said exactly what wikipedia said. But I definitely see your point, it isn't exactly the best place to get totally comprehensive information about anything in particular. If you ever find a more reliable source that talks about the Neveu upset, let me know :)

  • Thanks for posting this!

  • also, i have Oistrakhs recording of THIS and i find it much better and less scratchy.

  • How do u know Oistrakh participated in that?

  • Participated in what? The huge international competition that Oistrakh lost to Neveu in 1935? That is not in dispute at all, in fact it is probably the most famous upset in a violin competition I think. Anyways, I am not saying that Neveu is a better violinist than Oistrakh. In fact, I think exactly the opposite. But she definitely was unique and certainly deserves all the credit for her accomplishments.

  • oistrakh must have had a bad day that day lol

  • There must have been a good reason for the outcome of that competition. Neveu was considered to be a child prodigy, unlike Oistrakh, which may be one reason why she won at such a young age. I couldn't find out much info about the competition but I know it was held in two stages in 1935, so the argument that Oistrakh "had a bad day" is most likely wrong. Also, Oistrakh didn't receive internation acclaim until he won the Ysaye Competition in 1937.

  • ooooooooo will u please please post the oistrakh recording ? ? ? i began to learn this piece 2day in my violin lesson. Ive been looking for oistrakhs recording ! please please please post it ! i will be disgustingly grateful lol !

  • oh lol, i dont have a video, only a CD,

  • yeah, "VHS" wasn't exactly a popular medium yet in that day, let alone DVD, hee hee.

    I don't think Oistrakh had a bad day; someone else just happened to be phenomenal, too.

    I've been listening to violin music like mad since Saturday when I met Elmar Oliveira after seeing him perform *fangirlish sighs* He probably thought I was nuts... well, the conductor thought I was even more crazy asking for his autograph, but he (Jorge Mester) rocks. I'm so lucky to live where the eastern music fest is!

  • why! WHY can't i live in the east where there are decent teachers? I mean, my teacher is excellent but i did not start with him until about a year ago and im sixteen now. i started when i was 11 but in the west we dont have good school music teachers. its sad...they wont give anything to the music department here.

  • i feel your pain completely. i didnt get to a decent teacher until a few years ago. so we've had to spend months and months undoing my old bad habits ! grrr lol

  • Same here, I had to fix my bow hand, he made me use no shoulder rest, and a whole bunch of other things.

  • exactly the same for meeee ! no shoulder rest (which i completely agreed with lol), and my bowing arm was all to hell lol, but its bak on track now ! lol

  • me too

    my school teacher told me with out a shoulder rest i have too much tension, but i am able to shift and move my fingers quicker

  • Where in the US do you live? I surely hope you don't mean the east as in Eastern Europe... the USA has amazing, amazing music schools... heck, I just saw Elmar Oliveira (AMERICAN winner of the Tchaikovsky competition) at the Eastern Music Fest in NC Saturday... and even in the piddly midwest, my organ professor was #3 in the world, my orchestra conductor an incredible violinist, etc... the trick is to go to a music college for lessons (mine was accredited by the Nat'l Assoc. of Schools of Music)

  • Thanks for sharing this!

  • sarah chang and gil shaham play this so much better!