Jascha Heifetz

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By far, one of the best gifts to give for Christmas is recorded music. It can be a tough thing to buy for someone else as music tastes are very subjective and you never know what the receiver already owns. For this reason I enjoy broadening the minds of the people on my Christmas list with new music I'm pretty darn sure they will enjoy.

The following list of music recommendations has been carefully compiled from my large and diverse personal collection. I know there is so much more fantastic music I left out, but this list is a darn good start.

For the hard rocker who thinks classical music is for wimps:

• Dvorak "Symphony #9"
• Holst "The Planets"
• Beethoven Symphonies 3 "Eroica," 5, 7 and 9. Also the "Moonlight" and "Pathetique" Piano Sonatas
• Rimsky-Korsakov "Scheherazade"
• Prokoviev "Classical Symphony"
• Schubert "Unfinished Symphony, #8"

For the passionate listener who only has music by dead guys with wigs:

• Queen "A Night at the Opera"
• Led Zeppelin "Physical Grafitti"
• Beatles "Abby Road"
• Yes "Fragile"
• Radiohead "OK Computer"
• Alanis Morissette "Jagged Little Pill"

For the high-strung boss who can take a little mellowing:

• Bach "Brandenburg Concertos 1-6"
• Simon & Garfunkle "Greatest Hits"
• Antonio Carlos Jobim "The Man from Ipanema"
• Portishead "Portishead"
• Debussy "Le Mer"
• Any piano works by Chopin

For the tough guy who needs to get in touch with his feminine side:

• Heart "Dreamboat Annie"
• Madonna "Immaculate Collection"
• Sheryl Crow "Sheryl Crow"
• Sarah McLaughlin "Surfacing"
• Alanis Morissette "Under Rug Swept"
• Ani DiFranco "Revelling/Reckoning"
• kd lang "Ingenue"

For a lonely lady seeking male companionship:

• Billy Joel "The Stranger" and "52nd Street"
• Red Hot Chilli Peppers "Blood Sugar Sex Magic"
• The Beatles "Revolver" or "Abby Road"
• Sting "Ten Summoners Tales"
• Leonard Cohen "The Future"
• Elvis "Greatest Hits"
• Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong "Best of..."

For the Baby Boomer who missed the bus to Woodstock,
or can't even recollect if they were there??:

• Jefferson Airplane "Surrealistic Pillow"
• Jimmie Hendryx "The Ultimate Experience"
• Janice Joplin "Greatest Hits"
• Creedence Clearwater Revival "Greatet Hits"
• (Other Great 1960's albums include anything by the Beatles)

For the poor sod who works graveyard shift:

• Propellerheads Decks and Drums and Rock-n-Roll
• Soundtrack from "The Matrix"
• Rush "Moving Pictures"
• Bjork "Post"
• Led Zeppelin "III" and "Zoso"
• Infected Mushroom "Classical Mushroom"

Safe bets for a "Secret Santa Gift Exchange":

• Mozart Symphony 41 "Jupiter"
• Elton John "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"
• Beatles "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"
• Supertramp "Breakfast in America"
• Vivaldi "Four Seasons"
• Michael Jackson "Thriller"

For the violinist in the family (we all have one):

• Mark O'Connor "The New Nashville Cats"
• Itzhak Perlman "Sarsate: Carmen Fantasy"
• Eileen Ivers "Wild Blue"
• Leahy "Leahy" Ma, O'Connor & Meyer "Appalacia Waltz"
• Anything featuring Jascha Heifetz, Pinchas Zukerman, Itzhak Perlman and/or Stephan Grappelli

For the music buff who has everything:

• Corky Siegel "Chamber Blues"
• John Scofield "Uberjam" or "Handjive"
• The Baronics "Get Bach"
• Soundtrack from the Motion Picture "Amelie"
• Afro Celt Sound System "Volume 1: Sound Magic"
• Poe "Haunted"
• Soundtrack from That 70's Show "Jammin' Album"
• Horace X "Strategy" or "Sackbutt"

And when all else fails...

Gift Certificates!

**Rhiannon Schmitt (nee Nachbaur) is an award-winning classical violinist/fiddler and music teacher who operates Fiddleheads Violin School & Shop. Fiddleheads has won several distinguished business awards and offers beginner to professional level instruments, accessories and supplies with exceptional personal service: http://www.fiddleheads.ca

Top 10 Violin Concertos of All Time

If you’re looking for objectivity, you won’t find it here. I’m a psychologist by profession and an amateur violinist. So the following list and the explanations are purely subjective, not the opinion of a professional musician or musical scholar, and will probably change by the time I finish writing this. Nevertheless, as of today, here are the top 10 violin concertos of all time (in rank order), and why I think so.

Number 1 – Ludwig van Beethoven, Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major, Opus 61, written in 1806."The Gentle Giant." A serene piece of music made of the simplest materials but of immense scope and structure. One of the greatest cultural achievements of Western civilization. Listen particularly for the 5-beat element present almost everywhere in the 1st Movement.

Number 2 – Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D Major, Opus 35, written in 1878."A true blockbuster." This is the most popular violin concerto ever written, and with good reason. Written in a burst of happy inspiration, it has been on the best-seller list of audience favorites for over 125 years, and shows no signs of disappearing.

Number 3 – Johannes Brahms, Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D Major, Opus 77, written in 1878."Depth and romanticism." The ideal combination of classical form and romanticism from the unique voice of classical music’s most introspective poet. He had to have been in love when he wrote this one.

Number 4 – Niccolo Paganini, Concerto for Violin and Orchestra No. 2 in B minor, Opus 7, written in 1826."Dramatic, theatrical, virtuosic, and seductive." Italian opera with the violin solo as a kind of super-soprano voice. You can almost see the curtains opening at the opening orchestral introduction. The ultimate combining an operatic aesthetic with spectacular instrumental virtuosity by perhaps one of the greatest virtuosos and underrated composers of all time.

Number 5 – Jean Sibelius, Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D Minor, Opus 47, written in 1903."Emotional, majestic, and exciting." This has been an audience favorite ever since it was popularized by the great Jascha Heifetz. The rugged nature of the two outer movements is in complete contrast to the exquisite beauty of the slow movement, which has a long melody played only twice.

Number 6 – Felix Mendellsohn, Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in E Minor, Opus 64, written in 1844."Seamless elegance and heart." The model of what a violin concerto should be. Pure song from beginning to end. It actually sounds as if it was never actually “composed,” but always existed in the atmosphere somewhere, only to be plucked out of the sky by Mendellsohn and written down for others to play.

Number 7 – Bela Bartok, Concerto for Violin and Orchestra #2, written in 1939."Animalistic fury from the heart of the Eastern European backwoods." This concerto is simultaneously in classical sonata form, a theme and variations, and with all of the inspiration of an improvised fantasy. Its nature is deep and stark, just as the turmoil of the world the composer lived in.

Number 8 – Dmitri Shostakovich, Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, #1, Opus 99, written in the 1950’s."The darkness of the 20th Century." Unusual in being in 4 movements, whereas most concertos are in 3. Introspective and vibrant. The 3rd Movement, “Passacaglia,” is a theme and variations of almost agonizing intensity.

Number 9 – Edward Elgar, Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in B Minor, Opus 61, written in 1910."Victorian pomp and emotional sensitivity all rolled into one." This is one of those “old-fashioned” concertos that keeps popping up as timeless. The depth of emotion, genuine sentimentality, regal dignity, and consummate virtuosity inherent is this music is all perfectly combined and direct from the composer’s heart.

Number 10 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Violin Concerto #4 in D Major, K. 218, written in 1775."Purity, song, and perfection." How can you have a top-10 list and not include Mozart? In fact, how can Mozart possibly have sunk to 10th place? The 3rd and 5th Concertos may be more popular, but to me this one has such sheer beauty, liveliness, and heart, that it never fails to move me.

About the Author

Sander Marcus, Ph.D., is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Certified Professional Resume Writer in Chicago. He has over 3 decades of experience in providing career counseling, aptitude testing, job search coaching, and resume writing to tens of thousands of individuals. He is the co-author of 2 books on academic underachievement, various tests, and numerous articles. Contact him at marcus@iit.edu, 312-567-3358. www.center.iit.edu

Pronunciation of Jascha Heifetz?

He's one of my favorite violinists and I'm ashamed to say that I don't know how to pronounce his first name! Is it "josh-uh" or "yosh-uh" or what?
del_icious_manager: I'd prefer not to sound ignorant. Thanks so much~

YA-sha HIGH-fetz. Capitals indicate stressed syllables.

Thank you for caring - so many don't!

Perlman's encores hit the spot
By RICHARD STORM Correspondent The distinguished violinist Itzhak Perlman, beautifully accompanied at the piano by Rohan De Silva, presented a program at the Van Wezel on Monday evening that built its impact slowly, achieving the excitement we have come to expect from this musician best in a selection of short works -- encores, really -- at the end of the concert.

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