Kreisler: Recitative & Scherzo Caprice, Op. 6

Along with his friend Caruso, Fritz Kreisler (1875–1962) was one of the superstars of the early gramophone era. He was “the master musician among the violinists of the day” (New York Times); he died 50 years ago (29 January 1962). As a composer, he is famous for his Viennese-style melodies, such as Liebesfreud and Liebesleid, for his notorious pieces “in the style of” various 18th-century masters (which he passed off as their original works, claiming to have rediscovered them in old manuscripts), and for his arrangements of well-known works by other composers.

We remember one of the world’s greatest violinists with an enticing 2CD set that includes a first time release on CD of a tribute LP from 1961, original Kreisler recordings, and an array of great modern violinists playing his works.

For decades Fritz Kreisler duped his audiences into thinking that many of his works for violin and piano were arrangements of compositions by other composers such as Stamitz, Vivaldi, Couperin, Dittersdorf or Porpora. Only a handful of friends and fellow musicians who knew the nature of this charming and casually relaxed violinist, knew these were actually the works of Kreisler himself. It was only when he was aged sixty he publicly and freely admitted he concealed most of his own works behind the names of 17th and 18th century masters. Kreisler is today regarded as one of the greatest violinists of all time.

Kreisler wrote a number of pieces for the violin, including the ‘Liebesleid’ and ‘Liebesfreud’ arranged for piano and strings on this recording, that are frequently performed by violinists today as ‘encore’ solos.

The three works presented here are performed by one of the world’s leading ensembles, Budapest Strings.

Reissue of previously released title.

Ingolf Turban commands a repertoire of works, some of which have rarely been performed on stage or on CD. This recital comprises masterpieces for solo violin and reflects Ingolf Turban´s special preferences for unusual musical works and programmes.

Unlike the piano, the king of instruments, only a small percentage of works has been written for solo violin. As everyone knows, a piano recital is a recital for solo piano. A violin recital, however, is usually a duet for violin and piano. Since the violin is mainly a singlemelody- instrument, it is always a special challenge for the violinist to study the solo works, simply because most of them comprise both the melodic line and the accompaniment normally given to the piano.....

Although it was a tradition in classical music for centuries that performer and composer were one and the same person, this custom sadly faded in the twentieth century. But we are fortunate in having some of the greatest masters of the violin, including Kreisler, Heifetz and Milstein, who composed or arranged many pieces for their instrument.

Although Kreisler composed few solo pieces except his cadenzas for a number of violin concertos, his Recitative and Scherzo-Caprice is surely one of the most popular pieces among all those famous Viennese desserts. And the Paganiniana by Milstein, so cleverly based on variations by Paganini, forms a violin master's tribute to the all-time iconic violinist.

On this recording I have also included two modern pieces for solo violin. These works by Berio and Schnittke are no conventional 'easy-listening'. But like all great modern art, they give us a new vision, allowing us to create new sound imagery from the violin.

Ning Feng

Shannon Lee is a young violinist who is tipped for great things. In the summer of 2005, she made her stunning orchestral debut at the age of 12 with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, performing the Chausson “Poeme” and Franz Wexman’s extremely challenging Carmen Fantasy. Later that same year, she was the featured soloist for the Dallas Symphony’s Texas Tour, and in 2006 she made her European debut with the Nuremberg Philharmonic Orchestra.

Introducing Shannon Lee is a wonderful collection of pieces that include the well known and the rare. Each of the works spotlights the versatility and musicianship of this young violinist and her ability to work well with accompanist Pamela Mia Paul. Highlights include Wieniawski’s notoriously difficult “Scherzo-Tarantelle”, Elgar’s much-loved “Salut d’amour” and the most weighty work on the disc, Brahms’ “Sonatensatz”.

This disc is the first opportunity to hear a young violinist poised to become one of the great artists of tomorrow. As Telarc President Robert Woods puts it “There is a dearth of fantastic talent in young artists today, so why does any one person stand out from another? To a great extent, it’s the preference of the listener – the person who discovers someone’s playing for the first time. When that happened for me with Shannon, I had the sense I was listening to a very old soul in a young person’s body. Shannon’s maturity was well beyond what I had heard from other young performers.”

Accompanist Pamela Mia Paul has performed with the world’s great orchestras. She has given concerts throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia, both as soloist and as chamber musician. In the studio, or in the setting of a master class, she is an internationally sought-after pedagogue whose students have participated in and won competitions including the Naumburg International Piano Competition.