Janos Starker - Dvořák: Concerto - 1st mvt. (2/2)

[jokerXL512]

This is some of those most expressive playing I've *seen out of Starker. His sound is always great, but he's really enjoying himself and letting loose. It's refreshing. :)

[Luvlyclassic]

Mr. Starker was my Late Father 's (conductor from Korea)best friend. When I was a child (I am in my 50s)he used to come to our house with his wife for dinner party after his concert with my dad's KBS orchestra... He used to say , ''I will never come to Korea unless Mr.Lim conducts''. :) I miss him! When he became a professor in my school in Germany (Folkwang Musik Hochschule) he used to give a master class not only for his class but also for the students who were studying the violin.

[MrAugustasG]

He just can;t do it! Composer didn't write that!

[MrAugustasG]

At 3:00 was terrible.I don't understand how he can do it?

[davidhan96]

@MrAugustasG That's what I thought, too, but after listening and watching a few times, you may see that he does it on purpose.

It's...his distinctive style, if you will:)

[celloWiz10]

Beautiful.

[HLcalculus]

you really need to upload the rest of the concerto!

[assindiastignani]

A very modest man, never given to the kind of (often very distracting) snake-charmer swaying back and forth, grotesque grimaces or eyball-rolling of many of his younger colleagues, he just sat there quietly and played better the cello than everyone else. Also a superb teacher. I heard him a lot as a kid, and this is not really one of his best performances - which is actually kind of scarey, because for anyone else it would be a career highlight.

[LightningSpeedRacer]

i agree with sanjosemike

[k73f]

i want to see him play the 2nd and 3rd movement!

[Rettihsllub]

Starker is probably the first cellist I have heard to really make musical sense out of the slow section at the beginning of this clip.

[jwunschie14]

disagree, trust me, starker is my favorite cellist, i have sat in on lessons with him here at IU, and I love everything about him, but i think it is too sporadic, notes dont connect all the way, the opposite of what i was taught here.

[stevejwilliams]

@Rettihsllub Yes! 

[anisometropie]

2:40 is not was dvorak wrote

[k73f]

all recordings I have are being played like that, but the sheet music I have is totolly different then what he plays at 2:40 like you said. On my sheet music whats written is just high 16th notes.

[celloguy27]

the thing he does at 3:00 is so awesome, its not a mistake, i looked in his edition of this concerto and it is written in there.

[SlitheryWolf]

what edition is that, i have never heard ANY one do that. EVER.

[celloguy27]

haha it is starker's edition. ok maybe some don't like it, but they sure do remember it.

[Cello1209]

Interesting. I love this piece. Starker has a completely different interpretation, especially compared to Rostropovich. It's much more mellow. Check out 4:19 -> in Rostropovicih's recording that part is an much more passionate part

[vladiinsky]

I was playing the octaves 5:35 like him ( not LIKE him :) ,but it is much attractive with ornaments.

[bblandino]

I have a 1955 LP of a much younger Starker performing this concerto using a Stradivarius cello from 1696 called the Lord Aylesford and he makes that instrument sing. That recording puts all other performances of the Dvorak Cello Concerto to shame!

[blingbling23]

Yes, the Lord Aylesford! I know his recordings of Haydn and Boccherini concertos (with Giulini). The instrument was so large that, if you see any picture of him playing it, you'll see he has the bridge moved up higher than the standard midway point of the sound holes -- this to make the string length manageable. What a sound from that instrument. Heard that after he sold it, the instrument was cut down to standard size. A shame, I think.

[Gautigoth]

Starkers recording was a big hit for decades, at least among cello players :) But I thought it was recorded in 1958. I have a later LP pressing of this performance and it is one of my favourite albums.

[OzzyKingofKings]

@bblandino Are you referring to the one with Susskind and the Philharmonia (I could swear that it's from '56, but I might be mistaken...)? I believe it was the first stereo recording of the Dvorak ever made.

And yes, we are in agreement that it is mindblowing. I daresay I even prefer it to his later Mercury Living Presence issue with Dorati/LSO.

[jgesselberty]

@bblandino I love Starker's performance, but if you want the quintessential Dvorak Cello Concerto, seek out an old RCA recording by Gregor Piatigorsky. It is a revelation.

[GentleGinjeet]

@bblandino upload it, you fool!

[sanjosemike]

Starker is sometimes criticized by people who "prefer" cellists who sway violently and cry and drip sweat on their wood.

But even though I like "theater" I have to admit that Starker is utterly clear at all times, and his phrasing is quite beautiful.

Phrasing is a part of showing emotion. You may not see it, but you DO hear it.

sanjosemike

[sweatinggrundle]

im not sure i like this interpretation. in the slow g# minor middle section, its like each note has an accent and then decays. where's the line? and yes, what WAS he doing at 3:00? plus, there is very little dynamic contrast.

[vladiinsky]

funny face at 4:18 :)

I love his intonation and control.

[vladiinsky]

what was that?? ( 3:01 )

[mosaicmatt]

yeah, I totally feel that was deliberate on part of Starker. I've heard it interpreted so many different ways, from Ma to Maurice Chandron to Rostropovich, etc.

[zipizapdos]

well, it seems he is human after all...

[cellovn]

I prefer Yo-Yo MA interpretation much more....

anyway, this one is still amazing

[Enix5548]

True that. Althought du Pre's interpretation is a lot better than this in my opinion, Starker's technique is one of the best in the world.

[cellocraze]

his technique is absolutely flawless, he's like the Heifetz of the cello. I believe starker's one of the few people who has mastered the instrument. thank god for him

[Celloman4044]

he looks like a character of the simpsons

[Ruacello]

i like so much too the video of the dvorak cello concerto with YoYo Ma, i hope see in someplace, and i dont like the minute 3:00, i have a version with casals and fournier and i dont like all that bows

[raist84]

I prefer du Pre's rendition... much more strong and energetic, and her sound and technique were much more better too. But this one is good also

[peavyt15]

she was amazing but her technique wasnt better. she was great with style and enery but her technique wasn't perfect.

[AbsoluteZ3R0]

Lol "much more better". If you like Du Pre's playing better that's your opinion, but Du Pre's technique is no where near this level, she has slip ups every now and then, but this guy plays as cleanly as a violinist.

[raist84]

whatever

[cellocraze]

I was never a big fan of starker, cuz i think he's overly technical and plays it like a machine. Thats still true, but this is an amazing performance and flawless in every way. Interesting bowings on the octave shift though

[Celloman4044]

what the hell was that at 3:00!?

[nodrog71]

He seperated the notes of the scale. Casals did it too.

[cellodude1]

Great sound isn't it...

[mrn93]

very different from Rostropovich's interpretation

[smudgepots]

Playing of great mastery but what a shame the accompaniment is so pedestrian and unmaginative. Still that Starker manages to elevate the performance to such heights is further tribute to his greatness.

[cellispielen]

Does anyone know what happened to the Yo-Yo Dvorak Concerto videos???

[cellocraze]

the person who posted them had there account taken off... I you want to watch them you can go to google videos. its on there

[doddiev]

absolutely fearless!!!

[kaikobird]

Incredible. (: Thanks for the upload.