Elman Plays Hebrew Melodies = BONIME: Danse Hebraique; BLOCH: Nigun; PERLMAN: Dance of the Rabbitzen; CHAJES: The Chassid; GOLDFADEN: Raisins and Almonds; ACHRON: Hebrew Melody; LAVRY: Yemenite Wedding; BRUCH: Kol Nidre; Eili, Eili (arr. Elman) - Mischa Elman, violin/ Joseph Seiger, piano Among the distinguished pupils of legendary pedagogue Leopold Auer is Mischa Elman (1891-1967), whose talent I witnessed only once, at Lewisohn Stadium in New York, where he performed both Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky Concertos with Alfredo Antonini. Renowned for his rich and expressive violin tone, Elman also came dangerously close to perpetual sentimentality in his playing, milking the musical phrases with slides and portamenti. In the case of his attachment to Hebrew melodies and arranged chants, this propensity for exaggerated emotion proves an asset, as in the familiar Nigun from Bloch's Baal Shem Suite. Elman can project a rarified simplicity as well, evident in the tender pathos of Lavry's Yemenite Wedding from the composer's Three Jewish Dances. Much of the music is cast in the same mold, declamation and repeated riffs followed by wistful dances.
The cantor-responsorial pattern marks several of the pieces, graced by a sweet lyricism and gentle resignation. Occasionally, as in the Goldfaden piece, an air of exoticism and Eastern incense wafts into our consciousness. Seiger's piano playing becomes quite dazzling in the Goldfaden piece, as arranged by Anthony Collins.
Keywords: Mischa Elman, Hebrew Melodies, Plays Hebrew, Elman Plays, The Goldfaden, Plays Hebrew Melodies, Elman Plays Hebrew
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