Five Stars is Not Enough

Joshua Bell--
For Hanukkah this year, my parents got me this CD and I am so happy about it. This CD adds to my collection of over half a dozen of your CDs. I listen to it over and over and over and it amazes me time after time. Four Seasons is a great piece--we played an arrangement of it in orchestra. But no recording I have ever heard of it lives up to the level you have set. As a violinist, you have raised the bar for quality in the classical music world. A Jewish violinist myself just like you, I am very inspired by your incredible sound that soars through the air.

Your spring is beautiful. I feel like I am running through a field with birds chirping and flowers blooming. No--flying through a field. As you play summer, I feel fatigued as if I had been running for too long in the hot sun. The third movement of it [summer] is just unbelievable. Then fall comes and I am jumping again with the music. Leaves are falling on me and a breeze is singing. Winter brings me memories. One of my friends performed the solo part of Winter II and he had a gorgeous vibrato. But then I heard your recording of it and I cried. The tone was simply uncomparable. The Devil's Trill is an awesome piece. I read in the CD booklet inside that you were first introduced to it at the age of 13. When reading that, my mouth dropped. You were performing that at my age! I am simply in awe of you. You inspire me beyond words can say. Thank you for being Joshua Bell.

--
Biggest Fan