User Reviews

this documentary is so good. everything here is excellent. the only thing that i would want is for them to show more HEIFETZ footage. he is the best on there. heifetz is a true american violinist.thanks to him america is known for having the best violinist(although he's russian, and he has the best school of all. russian school).anyways all the players are good, unlike today's losers. and ysayes fat as usual. and theres some guy who looks like he's jealous when szigeti is playing the drdla piece. wierd. but whatever i like everything here. you should watch it.

A wonderful documentary that can easily be seen more than once without a problem, and it is almost perfect. Much more definitely could have been said about the immense influences of Paganini and Heifetz and their significant contributions to violin playing, they're mentioned but could have been elaborated upon. And there could have been a little less of Yehudi Menuhin, though the latter is understandable considering how close to his death the documentary was shot and you could see it as some kind of tribute. The Art of Violin is nicely shot though with the footage remarkably clear and well-incorporated. The music of course is so great that you'd run out of superlatives, and while there are omissions(inevitable) and a few of the excerpts are brief the violinists that are included will delight any professional or aspiring violinists or lovers of the instrument. The clips- some rare- that are particularly great are the ones for Oistrakh's Shostakovich cadenza, Neveu's moving rendition of Poeme by Chausson, Heifetz who is blistering yet expressive, Milstein whose clip shows off his clean and precise articulation beautifully, Elman whose beautiful tone is not hindered in the slightest and of course Menuhin who particularly in the Chaconne plays with great expression. Other delights are the montage of different violinists playing the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto and the discussion of the two different types of violin. The clips allow us to see the different techniques up close too, like with Grimaux's vibrato, Heifetz's speed of the bow and how disciplined Milstein was about fingering, something that was done far better here than in the Art of Piano documentary(which was still very good). The commentaries on the most part are very enlightening, Hilary Hahn is not always very fluid but Perlman makes a great point about how demanding the violin is to play and the mechanics of it, I could listen to Menuhin and Ida Haendel for hours and just loved what was said of Neveu and Haendel's thoughts on technique and individuality(something that any violinist should learn from) and Gitlils has a quite endearing light-hearted approach. All in all, inspirational and fascinating. 9/10 Bethany Cox

I have played violin for most of my life, having learned under the Suzuki Method. Given my experience, I knew that I would by enjoying The Art Of Violin and I did. I simply loved all the beautiful songs and performances. There are such great master featured, and in some cases interviewed, as David Oistrakh, Itzhak Perlman, Mstislav Rostropovich, Isaac Stern, Georges Enescu, Ida Haendel, Ivry Gitlis, Hilary Hahn, Jascha Heifetz, Yehudi Menuhin, Léonide Kogan, Anja Søgaard Miechels, and more. We are also treated to a segment that discusses two great makers of violins: Guarnerius and Stradivarius. While I think The Art Of Violin is accessible to just about anyone, I think that it's my background in violin that caused me to be especially enthralled by it. But if you haven't played violin before, don't use that as an excuse to not watch the movie. I started playing before I even started school (the Suzuki Method starts very young, mind you) and even I learned some things from this truly spectacular viewing experience! Highly recommended whether you are a master yourself or a newcomer to the art of violin!

A perfect companion piece to The Red Violin is the two-part documentary called The Art of Violin, directed by Bruno Monsaingeon, a Paris-based concert violinist, who has devoted himself to making films about music (David Oistrakh, Artist of the People?, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Autumn Journey). The first segment is called The Devil's Instrument while the second part is named Transcending the Violin. Itzhak Perlman narrates the film which showcases performances by master violinists of the Twentieth Century and shares his recollections of the legends of violin, some of whom he came to know personally.

Along the way we are treated to rare archival footage of celebrated performances or home footage of great violin virtuousos such as Jascha Heifetz, Fritz Kreisler, David Oistrakh, Joseph Szigetti, Yehudi Menuhin, Isaac Stern, Eugene Ysaye, and others. The opening montage featuring five different soloists playing the Mendelsohn Violin Concerto is priceless. Also included are rare glimpses of child prodigies such as Ginette Neveu, Michael Rabin, and Joseph Hassid who died tragically at an early age. Interviews with contemporary artists such as Ida Haendel, Hilary Hahn, Ivry Gitlis, and Mistlav Rostropovich also provide considerable insight into the traditions of the violin and its performers over the years. Included is a very enlightening segment discussing the two great makes of violin: Stradivarius and Guarnerius, demonstrated by excerpts played upon various such violins dating as far back as 1699.

Highlights of the film for me included the brief moments of Chausson's Poème played by Ginette Neveu, David Oistrakh performing the cadenza from Shostakovich's Concerto No.1 and the brief glimpse of the young Joseph Hassid. My only complaint is that two of my favorite violinists, Georg Kulenkampf and Bronislaw Hubermann were not included. Naturally the quality varies from clean modern footage to shaky images from as early as 1912. What is amazing to me is that each performer's unique sound comes across so clearly. Ida Haendel said, "No one can say what makes one sound differ from another. This is in my opinion the individuality of the person: the strength of the pressure of the bow on the strings, the pressure of the actual fingers on the violin... the whole position." One thing is certain, regardless of the performer and their individual style, the beauty of the music is universal.