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Of the four suites that comprise the first part of this recording, two are Jewish works that were written after the 'Jewish Cycle', and two represent an entirely contrasting facet of Bloch’s art: his passion and reverence for the Baroque period, especially the music of JS Bach.

Reviews:
BBC Music Magazine
Both composers are served extremely well on this beautifully recorded disc, Hagai Shaham and Arnon Erez in particular giving a totally convincing performance of Bloch's well-known Baal Shem. Although on the evidence of this disc Ben-Haïm emerges as a less individual creative force than Bloch, the concluding Improvisation and Dance, brilliantly dispatched by both artists, would perhaps make a welcome alternative to Ravel's much-played Tzigane.

Fanfare
The vibrancy of Hagai Shaham’s tone and his willingness to engage in expressive devices, apparent from the first notes of Ernest Bloch’s Baal Shem, promises visceral performances of commanding penetration. That the tone, however refined, also possesses a sprinkling of grit hardly detracts from the strong-mindedness of his readings … Hagai Shaham sounds as much at home in this kind of ethnic material as in the hushed sections of the second movement or in the bold, virtuosic gestures of the third. By contrast with the Solo Sonata, Ben-Haïm’s two pieces for violin and piano present contrasting faces of romanticism, the Berceuse sfaradite, a rich melodious outpouring, and the Improvisation and Dance, a flamboyant showpiece. Those drawn in any way to these composers should find Shaham’s advocacy convincing. Strongly recommended, however, to all kinds of listeners.

The Strad
Hagai Shaham possesses the ideal kind of silver-toned, narrow-vibratoed purity to make these occasionally melodramatic pieces ring true. Rather than fall back on a well-upholstered, opulent sound, he streamlines his tone, adding a special kind of intensity to Bloch's soaring climaxes. Shaham strikes just the right balance between interpretative cool and swashbuckling bravado in Baal Shem … the recording is excellent throughout.

Classical.net
Shaham's and Erez's first disc of Bloch's music for violin and piano drew raving reviews from critics and listeners alike. This second should be a barnstormer like the initial foray, only this time Bloch has to share the programme with Paul Ben-Haïm, one of Israel's most famous composers, who together with some 40 other musicians had to flee the Nazi persecution and rebuild his career in strange and often trying conditions in Palestine.

Although Ernest Bloch (1880-1959) was born in Switzerland and Ben-Haïm (1897-1984) was a native of Munich, the musical language of both men ran parallel to the fact that the two experienced an awakening of the Jewish soul in music. All the pieces on this CD are a testimony to the inner suffering and anguish that many Jews were subjected to with the rise of Nazism, but if one listens carefully, the spirit of defiance and the will to survive it are at the very core of these emotional utterings.

Performances are simply electrifying, and the relentless tension that they create is almost unbearable. A vividly recorded and superbly documented disc all round.

Musicweb
These [performances] are truly inspiring. Shaham is unafraid of liquid, quick portamenti in the Baal Shem Suite and he is at pains to balance Hebraic fervour with high lying lyricism. The harp-like ripple of the second movement is a testament to Erez’s involving and colour-conscious playing. Shaham intelligently varies his tone here – this is not an understated Nigun but it is one that says a lot without saying too much. The joyous buoyancy and culminatory exultation of the finale show how adept the duo has been throughout – they pace the suite extremely well … The playing is insightful, expressive, and thoroughly idiomatic. These two musicians make an articulate and important statement about both composers’ work.

Amazon.com editorial
Hagai Shaham follows his disc of Bloch's Violin Sonatas with an equally splendid release of the composer's other violin music, crowned by his late Suites for solo violin, two works informed by the spirit of Bach with touches of serialism and Hebraic resonances. They're full of passion, virtuoso passages, and abrupt tempo shifts that can derail the performer. But Shaham sails through them with brilliance, capturing the rhapsodic opening of the first movement of Suite No. 1 along with its vigorous final movement, as well as the Second Suite's soaring, lyrical Andante and its virtuoso finale. Erez joins Shaham in Bloch's Baal Shem Suite and Suite hébraïque, played with colorful zest. The substantial fillers are works by Paul Ben-Haïm, a key figure in Israel's musical life. His Sonata in G minor for solo violin blends Bachian counterpart with impressionist gestures and folk song. Shaham lends an improvisatory feel to the rhythmically powerful first movement, recalls the lyricism of shepherd's pipes in the pastoral second, and revels in a stomping, virtuosic finale based on the Hora. A pair of attractive folk-based works close the recital, played by Shaham and Erez. An irresistible disc!

Gramophone (click to enlarge)



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