In the 2003 Perlman Edition from EMI, The Kreisler Album represents the lighter side of Itzhak Perlman's repertoire and admirably displays the performer's consummate showmanship and charm. While Kreisler's lush Viennese style is an acquired taste -- sometimes too crowded with portamentos and euphonious thirds and sixths to please everyone -- the music is nevertheless highly sophisticated in technique and sparkling enough to appeal as pure entertainment, and it need not be regarded as a guilty pleasure. Perlman relishes the ...
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In the 2003 Perlman Edition from EMI, The Kreisler Album represents the lighter side of Itzhak Perlman's repertoire and admirably displays the performer's consummate showmanship and charm. While Kreisler's lush Viennese style is an acquired taste -- sometimes too crowded with portamentos and euphonious thirds and sixths to please everyone -- the music is nevertheless highly sophisticated in technique and sparkling enough to appeal as pure entertainment, and it need not be regarded as a guilty pleasure. Perlman relishes the opportunity to play with the open sound and light bowing effects Kreisler's effervescent music requires; and with his accompanist Samuel Sanders, he gives a fairly complete picture of the old master's work in all its manifestations. Kreisler's original compositions, such as the Caprice Viennois and the Liebesleid, are presented alongside his arrangements of Romantic miniatures from Dvorák, Chopin, and Schumann, and several of his pastiches in older styles, such as the Tempo Di...
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