I am listening to a CD, presenting the music of two violinists who were tragically silenced in their youth, Ginette Neveu and Josef Hassid (Testament SBT 1010). It is with a feeling similar to that which you get when you have just discovered a new author, only to be told that he only wrote a couple of books and is now dead. A kind of sad desperation. This is all. There can never be more.

In the case of Hassid this CD contains the complete recordings - eight short pieces. That is all. Recorded when he was sixteen, in three brief sessions. Yet, to quote Bryan Crimp’s notes on the CD sleeve: The moment Hassid puts bow to string he beguiles the ear via a captivating and uniquely individual sound,a peerless technique and an arresting and frequently original interpretative approach. His technical security and cleanness of attack are awesom, his tone at once vibrant, virile and indescribably pure and sweet.

It is. Do listen!

This entry was posted on Friday, March 16th, 2007 at 3:44 pm and is filed under Listening. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.