Nathan Milstein – Miniatures (180g LP)

Violinist Nathan Milstein performs compositional works by Brahms, Massenet, Stravinsky, Simsky-Korsakov, Smetana & more with Leon Pommers at the piano.

Some of the selections in this album are extracts from major works of major composers; some are brief masterpieces by major composer; and others are works by lesser creators who have made significant contributions to the treasury of music in the smaller forms. Whatever their origins, miniatures of this sort hold an honorable place in the vast literature of music, for though they are small in size, they are rich in inspiration, craft, beauty.

“Of its kind, the record is very well done. The classical numbers are played cleanly and purely. The virtuosic ones are properly so. The Smetana and Kodály (a song transcription) are both evocative works so attractive as to make one wish they were obtainable in another context. The recording, both of violin and piano, is excellent, and well balanced.” -Gramophone

“It is a tribute to the artistry of Nathan Milstein that he is able to convert each of these miniatures – even something as trite as the Meditation from Thais – into little tonal gems, each properly set and beautifully projected. Here is a disc that should satisfy for years to come the greed of those who applaud at recitals only to hear more and yet more encores.” – High Fidelity: