The Art of Joseph Szigeti (vaimusic.com)

[GA4N]

szigeti was no jew

[baileydaled]

stealing FLUTE music!

[stevebuttkins1]

@baileydaled As if! The flautists stole it after it was transcribed. If you look in the Booesy edition piano part it still has the original violin part...

[me47244]

his vibrato is a litle bit slow.

but anyway -beside of that is playing so interesting -almost nobody of the

new generation of violinists could reach---

[jayadsilva67]

Isaac stern may be excluded here. He was a Jew but was uncircumcised. He was basically a politician, always bent on blocking a budding violinist. Like he did to Aaron Rosand. Then he favored Pinchas Zukerman to Kyung Wha Chung at one of the competitions . I do not like Stern.

[violatione]

@jayadsilva67 He also blocked Yuval Yaron in favor of Mihaela Martin and Ida Kavafian.

[zotgga]

@jayadsilva67 Against all the odds, Kyung Wha Chung tied Zukerman at the competition showing her unmatched artistry.

[almeronfilms]

Very beautiful!!

[violatione]

@almeronfilms Not really, They'd kick you out of Curtis and Julliard for playing like this. But when he was younger he was all butter.

[me47244]

of course they would kick him- his too characteristic!

look-at these schools are of course 100 or 140 violinists who can play this without anything to critizice and almost the same- but in the end I would prefer him!!

his violin sings - his technique is great beside some strange elements- his music is interesting----

[jin12345678]

@violatione is intonation is really perfect though.

[gordinlev]

Szigetti was one of the greatest violin players of his age. There are almost no video recordings of his play and we have to be lucky to have him on video.

I agree that at this age he could not control everything in his technique and I must say that this recording doesn't show his mastery, but I am happy to see him playing!!! If you are looking for his "better" recordings - take his earlier LP´s.

Thanks

[MrDouglasfairbanks]

this sounds like when i spun around too many times as a kid!

[felipize]

foi um bom violinista domina o instrumento /////// RONALDO BRILHA MUITO NO CORINTHIANS

[ipmoic]

No question he's older here and the vibrato is quite slow. His pianist, Arthur Balsam also toured with Nathan Milstein. (Oh the stories he'd tell!)

This tape is distorted which also affects his sound greatly.

A wonderful artist, full of ideas and character.

[risrosen]

Age definitely took a toll on Szigeti's technique, especially with his vibrato, which became excruciatingly slow. In his youth it was excellent, as I know from some early recordings that have some very virtuosic playing. I got hooked into Szigeti from hearing the concert recording of him with Bartok on piano, which is great. Then I listened to some other recordings...it took me a while to get used to his playing but now he's one of my very favorites.

[assa123assa123]

this is total idiotism. 'age took toll' - listen to Grappelli, fools

[munkybrain]

never heard anything like this before. slightly baffled by the rough bowing but the tone is fantastic. he's one of those who it's difficult to understand at first maybe

[almeronfilms]

Genius!

There are virtuosos. This man was considered a genius.

I read his autobiography - beautifully written.

The impression it made was that no matter what art or activity Szigeti turned his attention to, he would create something special and beautiful.

When he plays here there is such perfect devoted concentration. He looks as though he were beguiled by some indescribable vision.

[hakmirchai]

He's having some serious issues with his up bow stroke in the lower part of the bow. I think it's because his grip of the bow is so narrow.

[lamsalgado]

Master of expressiveness...Marvelous artist!!!

[tulipall]

To my great dissapointment I find that the latest comments on this page have turned to a nasty pointless fight, and say nothing of the fine violinist featured. could someone tell about this fine man? I know nothing of him, and he appears to be a virtuoso.

[ddviolinist]

Yes, he was a very famous violinist from Europe. He isn't in his best form in this vid. But he was an amazing player. He was nicknamed Szigeti Spagettti, because he was so lanky and long armed and looked funny when he played. It took him quite awhile to be deemed one of the top guys in the world because he was criticized harshly by the critics for how he looked rather than how he sounded, but he OVERCAME!! A very different player because of his physique.

[tulipall]

Thank you. He is amazing, and what you've said of him furthers my admiration!

[xlibrl]

Szigeti did not have the outrageous talent of a few of his contemporaries, but possesed a great musicality, and was beloved by his audience for his obvious humanity.

His perfomance for the recording of the Brahms violin concerto in 1959 with Menges is the great perfomance of that peace of all time. He was old, ill, and arthritic; the playing all shows it, and yet is great beyond measure. Some things cannot be explained, only understood.

[mikilikike]

Szegeny....)))))

[MaxGold01]

love it im relateid.

[risrosen]

"Joseph Szigeti's reputation was particularly exalted among his fellow violinists. Eschewing virtuosity for the sake of virtuosity, Szigeti was always completely at the service of the music. Szigeti visited CBC's Montreal studios on three separate occasions and those performances are gathered on this DVD release. Though Szigeti was already in his 60s when these performances were filmed, the qualities in his playing so cherished by his admirers are readily apparent." (Vaimusic DVD description)

[carloslaran]

what a unique sound

[Doctor550]

this is very crapy,i hate is vibrato

[larrysgirlfriend]

What a stupid, brainless remark.

[Giercke]

Allan: Thanks for putting this video here. Szigeti was one of those great musicians who eclipsed his violin ability with his passion for the oft unplayed but exceptional music of the century. His vib was quicker once upon a time, but the passion and the ear are still really there. He is one of the truly great violin-musicians of the 20th century. Bravo.

[Mambosalome]

Jewish is a religion. Polish is an ethicity. It is possible to be Jewish and Polish at the same time. I have friends who are Jewsihs and East Indian as well as Jewish and black.

[semisavage]

Ask 10 Jews what it means to be Jewish and you'll get 13 differing answers. Most of the Jews I know are atheists, so I would be very careful not to call, 'Jewish' a religion. 'Judaism' is a religion. Atheism is a religion too.

[paulostroff99]

semisavage-Most Jews that I know are practitioners of Judaism-to whatever degree,as is with most religions -including atheism.How then does one practice atheism? You are technically correct in what you are saying,though in general usage -you are not.

[socraticmuser]

Technically, Polish is not an ethnicity but a nationality. I do agree with you that praticing Judaism or even going through the ritual to become initiated into the Jewish community does make one Jewish.

[jguar17944]

Yeah, "Polish" would be a nationality or even if you could call it an ethnicity, it's possible to have more than one ethnicity, e.g. Jewish and Polish; it's not possible to have more than one religion.

[chipdevourer]

Jews for Jesus?

[paulostroff99]

chipdevourer-Jews for Jesus is a perversion or misnomer for those born to the Jewish faith or religion-who have converted to Christianity. If they are loath to give up their original, or born into faith-they should not corrupt the language even further by calling themselves otherwise.They are now Christian converts.

[paulostroff99]

jguar17944-Jewish is a religion,while Polish(for an example) is a nationality and/or an ethnicity.Ethnicity is the (original) origin of the person,or his family roots.

[paulostroff99]

Mambosalome-You are quite right. There were lost tribes,and some of those were black. Salome was black,as are the Falasha of Ethiopia. There are many other examples,and these people practice Judaism no less than do white Jews.

[crapo]

I shall join your fun yet stupid comments with an even more insignificant "know-it-all" comment: Atheism is not religion. If anything, it is against all forms of religion.

[calloffthedogs]

Atheism is based on being "comfortable". Those who do not have any use for a God are very often very comfortable in their lives. After all there are no atheists in foxholes.

[crapo]

True atheism requires great will and strength. It's not comfortable at all. There are some atheists in foxholes.. some of them went mad, some kill themselves.. some die of natural causes.

[calloffthedogs]

nice retort. please explain your thoughts further about it taking great will.

[crapo]

I guess i was thinking of Nietzche. And Sylvia Plath

[adamwas]

schilippe Wieniawski wasn't Jewish - his mother was Polish thus he's not Jewish

[paulostroff99]

adariwas-Where did you ever get such a diabolically incorrect understanding of fact.What would you then call Artur Rubinstein or the millions of Jews murdered in Poland in the name of ethnic cleansing,in the Hitler days? Were you correct-those millions there would not have perished.Can one for example not be a Catholic or other American?

[schilippe]

jews rock!: perlman, stern, szigeti, szeryng, milstein, kogan, haendel, heifetz, elman, menuhin, kreisler, oistrakh, mintz, shaham, gitlis, wieniawsi, zuckerman, bell, joachim, auer, vengerov, rabin,...

[paulostroff99]

schilippe-Klemperer,Walter,Sze­ll,Solti,Bernstein,Ashkenasi,P­revin,Mahler,Mendelsohn,,Gersh­win,Rubinstein,Horowitz,Berlin­,Levant,Borge,and more than space and word limitations on you tube permit

[NOalRAZZISMO]

@schilippe

possibly even Paganini!!

[issagele]

what is this crap? sounds like spagetti

[fiddlinmatt]

hah. you made a funny!

[Doctor550]

i agree with you this is horrible,crapy vibrato,crapy sound

[pannonia20]

A maga korában az egyik legelismertebb hegedűművész volt!

Hubay tanítvány, precíz, kifejezésben egyszerűen lenyűgöző!

[incasmaya]

bella cagata!!

[HuangKaiVun]

I don't get the impression that Szigeti was trying to do a wide vibrato. That's just the way his hands are built.

I'd rather hear Szigeti do varying shades of tone color with his vibrato (like he does here) than just throw on a fast hard vibrato like so many violinists do whenever they see a legato note.

Vibrato is a tool for enhancing the musical line, not the other way around.

[HeifetzBeatsOistrakh]

Amen. you know, he didn't vibrate like that when he was younger and more fit. He's probably in his late 60's here... but his intonation is almost impecable still.

[SLOKO970]

Szigeti is a great artist. His recordings of the Mozart sonatas with Mieczyslaw Horzowski are fabulous (Not to mention the recording he made with Bartok as soon as the latter got to the US). I also like his vibrato, slow and wide, with soul.

[3wheelfleetwood]

his autograph on ebay now!!

[sherom]

I love his vibrato too. Szigeti definitely had his own personal sound. Thanks for uploading this video clip of one of the truly great violinist.

[engine1385]

Extraordinary artistry. But you cannot evade the fact that, yes, Szigeti's left and right hands both exhibited some problems prematurely. He himself admitted that the training he received was overly aimed at virtuosity and not necessarily sound basics. Menuhin made similar comments.

But even late in life, in the stereo era, Szigeti was capable of marvelously communicative playing, as is heard on this wonderful film.

David K. Nelson

[govibe]

his bad technique was due to arthritis that developed in the 1950s.

[GODSFISTS]

You are my hero for uploading this!!!!!!!

[vokuheila]

Great sound... but what's with that vibrato?

[cuzigothighh]

I love his vibrato, 99% of the players today have vibratos that are too fast.

[bfchess]

Not at his best in this sample, but in his prime (his first recordings of the Beethoven and Brahms concertos) he was the greatest violinist of the 20th Century!!

[sneddley]

Same here-big fan-With his total involvement he helps me connect with all sorts of music from different periods. What I wouldn't give to see his solo Bach!

[scottbos68]

im a big fan thanks

[govibe]

he actually plays worse than menuhin...

[scottbos68]

actually cant stand menuhin at all

[govibe]

yeah, I can't understand why you can't stand menuhin but can stand this guy

[cuzigothighh]

IMO Szigeti is 10x the violinist and musician Menuhin is

[schilippe]

you mean "was"