Word: mintz
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Though Kreisler plays his other pieces faster, with more articulation, and with less shmaltz than Mintz, the latter's Liebesleid--slow and sorrowful--has more appeal. On RCA Victrola's 1968 release of Kreisler "Souvenirs," recorded in the 1920s, the composer plays the piece with slides and portamentos at every place imaginable. Mintz plays important notes with vibrato and spirit without sliding. Directors might consider using the piece for a romantic movie scene. The choice of lovers will be irrelevant; the mood of the scene--an intense, despairing good-bye--will be the same...
...Caprice viennois, Mintz plays fast passages clearer than Kreisler and has a wide, loud vibrato in slow passages. Kreisler plays with more appeal, though, because his short notes and even harmonics get vibrato. Mintz plays the double stops (two notes sounded at the same time) more ambitiously than Kreisler, who plays nothing out of place...
...BEAT Kreisler playing Kreisler. Maybe he developed his individuality from giving up the violin in his teens, joining the army and studying to become a doctor. Maybe it was his training at Vienna and the Paris Conservatoire before he was 12. In any event, the charm of Mintz's recording of the three pieces mentioned disappears in the others' lack of diversity in phrasing and tone color. Mintz sometimes plays too fast, too strong or too rubato. Some of his accents and tenutos (notes slightly lengthened for effect) are either too numerous or unnatural. Mintz' basically solid performance will give...
...some of the Kreisler compositions, Mintz's heavy style works. The Russian's Zigeuner-Capriccio (Gypsy caprice) sounds Bohemian, with good articulation and flashy slides. Mintz knows--or so it is said--what it is like to wake up and forget that he is not in his own bed. On the other hand, the recording of Kreisler's arrangement of the Albeniz Tango is no reason to get the butter. Mintz plays it as oversentimentally as the Glasunow...
...same style goes well in the Dvorak Slawisher Tanz No. 2. Mintz makes you think of the old country. He plays the low notes in high positions, heavy on trills and Russian slides to double stops. In the juiciest piece--Recitativo and Scherzo Caprice op. 6, written in the style of Ysaye--Mintz plays his solo. He digs too much, overemphasizes the triple stops and phrases the Presto poorly. It is messy and out of tune in the final pizzicato passage...