phil@philrowlands.com Some sessions I did just before Christmas with the lovely Fanny Clamagirand and pianist Vanya Cohen. This is a full CD of Saint-Saëns, including some nice rarities. It is released on Naxos
I wondered for a while what it is about this performance that makes it stand out. I've come to the conclusion that it is the very obvious pleasure which the musicians get from simply playing it to the best of their abilty, without any pressure to achieve any musical standard except their own. It really is an exceptional rendition of this piece.
Oh my, young ladies ! I’ve heard this played by a dozen different artists...including Yo Yo Ma on the cello. It’s never sounded more beautiful... you are both so talented. Thank you for the countless hours you worked to produce this. Bravo!
This absolutely beautiful piece of music is played in a corresponding beautiful manner by these two very professional performers. They do justice to this angelic composition.
Maravilhoso, já escutei essa performance do Cisne dezenas de vezes, superior a muito músico bom, vocês estão de parabéns, espero um dia ver meu filho tocando essa música maravilhosa de Saint-Saens , toca fundo em meu coração. Bravo! Abraço do Brasil!
Espressivo..First time my daughter played this piece, I fell in love with this beautiful and poignant haunting piece of music...One of the best renditions ever I've listened to..
Beautiful...You gals absolutely nailed this piece...you both inspire me. Thank-you Fanny and Vanya for your many talents in music. I could listen to this all day long.
mesdames, félicitations votre cygne bat des palmes allant son parcours du tranquillement que j'en ai les larmes aux yeux. Merci pour ce partage musical.
Astonishing. It's so weird that classical, baroque and romantic music like this isn't bigger than the ugly music that scales the charts and dumbs down society
It's because the so-called composers of today know they cannot compare to Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann, Schubert, Sibelius et al. So rather than coming in a distant second to those past masters they write something so different that it can't be compared to real music. Hence they can fell that they excel at something - garbage. Philip Glass, one of the "greatest" "composers" of our day wrote what he considered to be a masterpiece. For the International debut of this masterpiece (?) he did nor charge admission and, even though it was in New York City, it opened in a YWCA with the audience of what appeared to be about 50 scattered among the first first three rows of what appeared to be about 500 chairs. It was on RU-vid and I was able to force myself to listen for about ten minutes before I turned it off.
While I agree in part with your comment - certainly there never has been another Mozart for example, still music reflects the culture of the time. So modern music reflects the chaotic life that we have today. Stravinsky is no longer considered modern. But when the Fire Bird was first played, it sounded strange and remote to audiences. We have gotten accustomed to its dissonances, and today it is considered a classic and wonderful piece of music. This is not to say that modern music is always good. Some of it is trash, like most of popular music in my opinion, and will not survive the test of time. But the good will survive.
Oh wow, this just touched me right in the core. My grandfather used to play this on his violin. That’s almost 50 years ago and I couldn’t remember the name of the piece. Now it’s back, thank you so much!!
this is so pure, in my whole family I'm the only one who plays an instrument :( but at least there aren't any arguments about who's going to play on the next wedding!
There are many versions of this absolutely beautiful piece of music but to me this one outperforms anything I've ever heard. To those of us who can appreciate the amount of actual feeling that anyone could ever put into playing music then you can't help to realise the tremendous amount of feeling that has been put into this by these two perfect players. No wonder, when hearing anything like this, it makes your skin go all goose-bumpy and your eyes fill with tears. Absolutely perfect and beautiful. To play like this you must possess something that no amount of wealth could ever buy. Saint Saens wrote this lovely piece and here it was played to infinite perfection. Thank you.
john lewis did you know that Saint Saens made the Animal Carneval as a joke for his students and then forbode the performance of the pieces til after his dead . Strange
great recording quality, as that's usually the problem with many RU-vid vids. it can reduce a fine musician to one of lesser skill. fantastic playing as well.
It's a relatively common bowhold when playing baroque when a baroque bow is not available. Reduces the weight of the bow on the strings, allowing for a softer and lighter tone common in baroque music - and what the violinist here wanted to achieve.
So gentle and caressing. The pianist and violinist brought out such exquisite beauty of this well known piece. I think this is the best version and I have listened to them play so many times already! But the enjoyment of listening to this very sound never fades.
I always come back to this. I see 4 talented person, Saint-Saëns, the violinist, the pianist and the sound engineer for this beautiful mic placement and sound rendition. Wonderful.
