Ernst, H W: Der Erlkönig - Grand Caprice Op. 26

The Moravian Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst is a dazzling example of the nineteenth-century violinist-composer, of whom the greatest was Ernst’s sometime rival, Paganini. Indeed it was the Italian who persuaded Ernst to follow the life of a touring virtuoso, in which rôle he was to perform with the greatest musicians in Europe, earning the admiration of men such as Chopin and Mendelssohn. The Elégie sur la mort d’un objet chéri, mentioned by Tolstoy in The Kreutzer Sonata, was one of the best-known violin works of the century, and the Polyphonic Studies offer a compendium of violin technique on a par with the works of Paganini himself.

Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst (1812–65) was one of the leading musicians of his day, a friend of Berlioz, Chopin, Liszt and Mendelssohn, and for Joseph Joachim ‘the greatest violinist I ever heard’.

But the popular encore pieces by which Ernst is remembered today represent only a fraction of his output: this third CD – in a series of seven presenting all his compositions for the first time – shows the full range of his creativity and charm.

The Élégie sur la mort d’un objet chéri is written in his most moving and melancholy vein, and the Airs hongrois variés push the virtuoso violin to its absolute limits.

Between these extremes lie the lyricism of the Pensées fugitives, the inventiveness of his treatment of two Halévy operas and the high spirits of his fantasy on a Strauss waltz.

The first two volumes in this series have been received with glowing critical approval: Vol. 1 earned an ‘Editor’s Choice in Gramophone and in Fanfare Robert Maxham praised Vol. 2 for its ‘exceptional notes by Mark Rowe [and…] stunning performances of works both familiar and unfamiliar by violinist Sherban Lupu and pianist Ian Hobson’.

As virtuoso violinist, the Moravian Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst was a legend in his own lifetime. He died before the era of sound-recording, and his personal wizardry and magnetism can only dimly be recaptured in the written testimony of his contemporaries. Yet to a significant extent it lives on in his own works for his instrument: for he was a composer who significantly extended the boundaries and meaning of bravura technique. Unfortunately Ernst has long been the preserve of violin specialists only—unjustly, considering his quality as a musical thinker. As a composer Ernst combined the reckless virtuosity of Paganini and Liszt with a sure instinct for musical substance, putting transcendent violin technique at the service of something more than mere display.

The brilliant Russian violinist Ilya Gringolts, acclaimed for his technical brilliance and inspired interpretations of a range of repertoire, is the ideal performer of these dazzlingly difficult works. He has made many distinguished recordings for Deutsche Grammophon and BIS; this is his first recording for Hyperion. He is partnered by fellow former BBC New Generation Artist Ashley Wass.

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.