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Presto News - 2nd January 2012Fritz Kreisler |
 The first of this year’s anniversaries is that of the Austrian born violinist-composer Fritz Kreisler who died fifty years ago this month. I’ve really enjoyed my Christmas holidays listening to his recordings and researching about his life and legacy. I can’t think of any instrumentalists around today with such a characteristic sound, which is so instantly recognizable. But he was also a notable composer. His cadenzas (in particular the one he wrote for the Beethoven Concerto) are frequently played, his shorter works often feature as encores, and every serious violin student will have studied and learnt a number of his Viennese-style miniatures.  Fritz Kreisler Born in Vienna in 1875, he studied music at the Vienna Conservatory and at the Paris Conservatoire where his teachers included amongst others Bruckner and Massenet. After a successful tour of the United States as a supporting artist to the pianist Moriz Rosenthal he returned to Austria and applied for a job in the Vienna Philharmonic. He was turned down by the famous concertmaster Arnold Rosé, and subsequently left music to study medicine. One assumes that he was turned down not because he wasn’t good enough, but because his already vibrato-rich style would not have fitted in with the violin section of the orchestra. Thankfully he returned to the violin a few years later and went on to become one of the most famous violinists of all time. He commissioned Elgar to write a Violin Concerto, which he premiered in 1910, and for nearly half a century he maintained a punishing touring schedule as well as making a number of recordings. The bulk of these recordings (made between 1904 and 1946) were collected together a few years ago by EMI onto one of their ICON series boxes. This set is a tremendous way to get to know Kreisler the violinist. Listening to these recordings today you can hear his remarkable sound – characterised by an almost constant, but varied vibrato. He tended to avoid using his fourth finger in order to maintain his expressive sound and that gave rise to another of his notable characteristics – portamento. Since the mid 20th Century the sliding between notes has generally become considered over-sentimental and in poor taste, but for Kreisler it was merely a means of expression and an aid to the phrasing. The violinist Isaac Stern, who observed his playing in the 1940s, commented how he only seemed to use the middle part of the bow, and it was this combined with considerable arm weight and the vibrato which probably together are the chief factors in producing the pure, penetrating and sweet tone which he became so famous for. Aside from being one of the superstar violinists of all time, Kreisler was also a composer of considerable note. Famous mainly for his Viennese-style melodies, such as Liebesfreud and Liebesleid, he also wrote a number of pastiches ‘in the style’ of other composers such as Vivaldi and Tartini. Originally he presented these as newly discovered works by the composers themselves, and it caused something of a controversy when in 1935 he revealed they were actually all by him. By then they had already been accepted as worthy compositions and as he reportedly said at the time “the name changes, the value remains”. He also made a number of arrangements for violin and piano, cadenzas for the Beethoven, Brahms, Paganini (No. 1) and Mozart (Nos. 3-5) Concertos, and a string quartet (which is included on the EMI box). To mark the anniversary, DG have just released a 2-CD ‘Homage to Kreisler’ set which contains recordings of all his major original compositions and most popular arrangements. Put together from recordings in their archives including violinists like Ruggiero Ricci, Shlomo Mintz and Anne-Sophie Mutter it makes a compelling set. It also includes some very early Kreisler recordings (1910-12) which give a fascinating glimpse of the artist himself although are in no way comparable to the treasures residing on the EMI box.
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 Fritz Kreisler: The Charming MaverickFritz Kreisler (violin) |
 Homage to Fritz KreislerFritz Kreisler, Ruggiero Ricci, Jascha Heifetz, Shlomo Mintz, Anne-Sophie Mutter, David Oistrakh, Gidon Kremer, Christian Ferras |
Chris O'Reilly - chris@prestoclassical.co.uk |
Listen - sound samples available for this itemNew Releases2nd January 2012 |
This is just the pick of the recent releases. The New Releases and Future Releases pages are always available for browsing all the new and forthcoming releases. |
 The Romantic Violin Concerto 11 - RegerTanja Becker-Bender (violin), Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Lothar ZagrosekReger is one of those composers more talked about than listened to – caricatured as a prolific writer of organ music with a penchant for dense musical textures. But he certainly wasn’t averse to a good tune: the two Romances abound in lush lyricism, while the magnificent A major Violin Concerto shows him continuing in the tradition of the violin concertos of Beethoven and Brahms. |
 Dohnányi: The Complete Solo Piano Music, Vol. 1Martin Roscoe (piano)This volume, the first of a complete survey from Martin Roscoe, encompasses nearly half a century of Dohnányi’s composing life, from the trenchant virtuosity of the Four Rhapsodies to the wit of the late Three Singular Pieces. |
 Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 1-9 (complete)Annette Dasch (soprano), Mihoku Fujimura (alto), Piotr Beczala (tenor), Georg Zeppenfeld (bass), Wiener Philharmoniker, Christian ThielemannThis striking hardcover booklet with slipcase houses 6 CDs containing Beethoven’s entire symphonic work as well as a Bonus DVD with the documentary ‘Making van Beethoven’ (a documentary on the recording process with interviews with Christian Thielemann and members of the orchestra). Dubbed ‘The Beethoven Cycle of the 21st Century’, this cycle was recorded live in concert in the Goldener Saal of the Vienna Musikverein between 2008 and 2010 by the Vienna Philharmonic under the baton of Thielemann. |
 Fauré: Cello Sonatas Nos. 1 & 2Alban Gerhardt (cello) & Cecile Licad (piano)Following their triumphant Casals Encores disc, Alban Gerhardt and Cecile Licad are reunited for Fauré’s music for cello and piano. The two cello sonatas are among the masterpieces of the cello repertoire, looking back to the nineteenth century but also with an edginess that may well reflect the time in which they were written – during and immediately after the First World War. |
 Haydn: Violin ConcertosGiuliano Carmignola (violin), Orchestre des Champs-ÉlyséesFollowing his critically acclaimed recording of all the Mozart concertos, Giuliano Carmignola fulfils his long-held wish to record the unjustly neglected violin concertos of Joseph Haydn. Carmignola’s technical precision, disciplined musicality and gorgeous tone bring every one of the composer’s intentions to vivid life. His musical collaborators here, the remarkable Orchestre des Champs-Élysées − known for performing repertoire from Haydn to Mahler on period instruments − makes an ideal partner. |
 Pleyel: Symphonies & Flute ConcertoSinfonia Finlandia Jyväskylä, Patrick GalloisDuring his long and energetic life, Ignaz Joseph Pleyel distinguished himself as a composer, publisher and piano manufacturer. His versatility, one of the keys to his survival in the turbulent years of the French Revolution, is also to be found in abundance in his vast musical output. This recording features two scintillating symphonies and Pleyel’s only authentic concerto for flute. All three works amply illustrate the reason why he achieved such an unprecedented level of popularity in the last two decades of the 18th Century.
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 Danças BrasileirasSão Paulo Symphony Orchestra, Roberto MinczukThe recordings by the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra of works by Villa-Lobos, Camargo Guarnieri and other Brazilian composers have demonstrated the variety of their national music and the multi-faceted nature of Brazilian dance. Alexandre Levy’s Samba and Alberto Nepomuceno’s Batuque are early examples of a Brazilian art music which draws heavily on the dance rhythms of popular music.
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 Michael Head: SongsAilish Tynan (soprano), Catherine Wyn-Rogers (mezzo-soprano), Roderick Williams (baritone) & Christopher Glynn (piano)Who is Michael Head? His name may be largely forgotten but the music here forms part of the rich seam of English song in the manner of Quilter, Gurney and Warlock. Born in 1900, he worked modestly as a singer, pianist, teacher, broadcaster and adjudicator, writing his first song (The ships of Arcady) aged 19, studying at the Royal Academy of Music, where he became a professor of piano aged 27, remaining there for the rest of his career. |
Download - download options available for this item BBC Radio 3 CD ReviewSaturday 31st December 2011 |
Building a Library - Tchaikovsky: Orchestral Suite no. 3 |
The First Choice this week was the EMI disc with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Sir Adrian Boult. Unfortunately that recording is not currently available so below is the top recommendation currently available on disc. |
 Top Recommendation currently availableRussian National Orchestra, Vladimir Jurowski
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Disc of the Week |
 Vaughan Williams: Symphony No. 2 'A London Symphony' and Oboe Concerto in A minorStephane Rancourt (oboe), Halle, Sir Mark Elder |
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