Janine Jansen

An auspicious debut but more substantial fare might have made a bigger impression

Record and Artist Details

Composer or Director: Maurice Ravel, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, John (Towner) Williams, Dmitri Shostakovich, Camille Saint-Saëns, Aram Il'yich Khachaturian

Genre:

Orchestral

Label: Decca

Media Format: CD or Download

Media Runtime: 57

Mastering:

Stereo
DDD

Catalogue Number: 475 011-2DH

Tracks:

Composition Artist Credit
Swan Lake, Movement: Pas de six: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Composer
Barry Wordsworth, Conductor
Janine Jansen, Violin
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Composer
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Masquerade, Movement: Nocturne Aram Il'yich Khachaturian, Composer
Aram Il'yich Khachaturian, Composer
Barry Wordsworth, Conductor
Janine Jansen, Violin
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Havanaise Camille Saint-Saëns, Composer
Barry Wordsworth, Conductor
Camille Saint-Saëns, Composer
Janine Jansen, Violin
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
(The) Gadfly, Movement: Romance (3 and 7) Dmitri Shostakovich, Composer
Barry Wordsworth, Conductor
Dmitri Shostakovich, Composer
Janine Jansen, Violin
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Schindler's List, Movement: Theme from Schindler's List John (Towner) Williams, Composer
Barry Wordsworth, Conductor
Janine Jansen, Violin
John (Towner) Williams, Composer
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
(The) Lark ascending Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer
Barry Wordsworth, Conductor
Janine Jansen, Violin
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Composer
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Tzigane Maurice Ravel, Composer
Barry Wordsworth, Conductor
Janine Jansen, Violin
Maurice Ravel, Composer
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Introduction and Rondo capriccioso Camille Saint-Saëns, Composer
Barry Wordsworth, Conductor
Camille Saint-Saëns, Composer
Janine Jansen, Violin
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Those who heard this young Dutch violinist play The Lark Ascending at the Proms in July will appreciate that here is an artist of real magnetism. The booklet’s provocative portraits and emphasis on personal profile suggest just another young performer chosen more for looks than musical gifts. Happily, the playing tells a different story. Janine Jansen launches her sequence of popular items with an account of the ‘Danse Russe’ from Swan Lake which could hardly be more flamboyant, yet which also brings moments of the most delicate poetry.

The recorded balance is close, with the orchestra, like the soloist, larger than life. This especially suits the more exuberant works like the two Saint-Saëns showpieces, in which Jansen is bold and fearless. She plays the Shostakovich Romance with an apt, songful simplicity, which also graces the theme from John Williams’s music for Schindler’s List.

Jansen’s rubato is carefully controlled but never sounds over-studied; the rhapsodic introduction to Ravel’s Tzigane sounds genuinely improvisatory and has pianissimi of hushed intensity. Curiously, given her Proms success with The Lark Ascending, it is there that I miss the meditative, inner quality that marks the finest performances. Instead, her fresh, warm approach evokes the music’s folk elements. She is a violinist with a big personality who I am sure will be heard soon on disc in far more substantial works.

Discover the world's largest classical music catalogue with Presto Music. 

Stream on Presto Music | Buy from Presto Music

Gramophone Print

  • Print Edition

From £6.67 / month

Subscribe

Gramophone Digital Club

  • Digital Edition
  • Digital Archive
  • Reviews Database
  • Full website access

From £8.75 / month

Subscribe

                              

If you are a library, university or other organisation that would be interested in an institutional subscription to Gramophone please click here for further information.