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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | The Romantic Violin Concerto 13 - Schumann
Hyperion is pleased to present a thirteenth volume of the Romantic Violin Concerto. Although frequently featuring virtuoso showpieces by the composer–violinists of the nineteenth century, this series also includes works of great musical interest which for one reason or another have not entered the repertoire. The performance history of all three pieces recorded here is indissolubly linked with the turmoil of Schumann’s last years. Schumann’s Violin Concerto in D minor had to wait till 1937 for its premiere and has never become a standard work, but in the hands of Anthony Marwood it sounds remarkable. The Phantasie, by contrast, was lauded at its premiere and performed a number of times by Joachim. The Violin Concerto in A minor was arranged by Schumann from his Cello Concerto of the same opus number and is an important work in its own right. Marwood’s great technique and thoughtful musicianship have made him increasingly an artist to notice, and he performs frequently in Australia and America as well as throughout Europe. Here he is accompanied by Hyperion’s ‘house band’, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Douglas Boyd. “There's little Marwood can do to disguise the shortcomings of the solo writing [of the D minor concerto], or the repetitions of the finale, but he and the BBC Scottish Symphony under Douglas Boyd go at it with a great deal of enthusiasm, with the solo line very prominent in the sound picture.” The Guardian, 29th August 2012 *** “in a performance as strong and imaginative as this one by Anthony Marwood its impact is considerable. The sinew of the first movement, with its bold opening statement and toughness of inner workings, is contrasted with the mellow, reflective lyricism of the central slow one...There are firm Schumann fingerprints all over the score, and it fully merits the passionate advocacy that it receives here” The Telegraph, 6th September 2012 “Marwood's tone is notably characteristically focused with a notable sweetness which is matched by Wallin...Boyd and his Scottish players set ideal tempi in outer movements, enabling Marwood to negotiate fearlessly the fairly awkward and largely middle-range-lying solo writing...Utterly winning and authoritative.” Gramophone Magazine, November 2012 “[Marwood's] tone is sweetly centred, and avoids excessive contrasts between the upper and lower strings, so equalisation is the name of the game. So, too, is a certain chamber-scaled approach, with give-and-take with the orchestral wind principals...Marwood and Douglas Boyd keep the music on the go and bring out its felicitous colour” MusicWeb International, December 2012 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Mendelssohn & Schumann: Violin Concertos
This CD features German star violinist Christian Tetzlaff with virtuoso Romantic concertos by Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann. The Mendelssohn Concerto is one of the most frequently performed violin concertos of all time, with an unfailing popularity among audiences. Also included is Schumann’s more seldom recorded Fantasy for Violin and orchestra, which he completed shortly before writing the Concerto. One of Schumann’s last significant compositions, the long-lost Violin Concerto saw its première performance only in 1937, and was hailed by Yehudi Menuhin as the “historically missing link of the violin literature.” Christian Tetzlaff is accompanied on this recording by the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra – whose Artist-in-Residence he became in 2008/09 – and their acclaimed music director Paavo Järvi. This is the first CD in a series of releases featuring Christian Tetzlaff on the Ondine label. “[Tetzlaff] brings both urgency and a compelling sense of purpose to the violin writing, so that its weaknesses, its sometimes blunt phrasing and routine figuration, are entirely transcended. It's a remarkable piece of musical alchemy, but then his way of presenting the Mendelssohn concerto as if it were a new discovery is exceptional, too.” The Guardian, 18th December 2011 **** “If I describe the Mendelssohn performance as meticulous, this is not to suggest a lack of spontaneity or awareness of the broader picture but rather a situation in which a determination to follow the composer's instructions has led to an account of unusual depth and subtlety...Tetzlaff takes us right to the intimate heart of the [Schumann] slow movement.” Gramophone Magazine, February 2012 “Tetzlaff uses quite a bit of rubato in the opening [of the Mendelssohn], giving a few moments of doubtful ensemble...But he shapes dynamics and phrases sensitively, and the slow movement is less febrile and more poised...Tetzlaff treats [the Fantasy] with affection and virtuosity in turn. In the [Schumann] concerto, Jarvi's powerful delivery of the dramatic introduction grabs the attention, as does Tetzlaff's first entry.” BBC Music Magazine, February 2012 *** “Tetzlaff and Jarvi are as one, the 'give and take' being almost as chamber music, writ large. It is also a wholly Romantic performance [of the Mendelssohn], a yielding choice of tempos that permit flexibility without losing sight of the underlying forward momentum...This uncommonly interesting CD is well worth the attention of the genuine lover of echt-Romantic repertoire” International Record Review, January 2012 | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Previously unpublished David Oistrakh
This Enescu Festival programme is a very interesting one, beginning with a ‘stepchild’ of the repertoire. Schumann’s music for violin and orchestra, intended for Joseph Joachim, has had even less exposure than his other violin music: the Concerto was buried in a library until the 1930s, when Joachim’s great-niece Jelly d’Arányi successfully lobbied for its release, and the fine C major Fantasy had few champions – Adolf Busch was one, playing it regularly, and Fritz Kreisler went to the trouble of making his own piano transcription. That is the version played here by Oistrakh and Yampolsky and it is new to the violinist’s discography. The Franck Sonata, on the other hand, featured frequently in Oistrakh recitals and he recorded it with both Oborin and Yampolsky, also leaving us three live versions with Richter. This performance captures him ‘on the wing’ when he was still in his prime. Karol Szymanowski knew the violin well – one of his dearest friends was the Russian-born Polish virtuoso Pawel Kochan´ski – and wrote two concertos, a sonata, a set of three Myths, a Nocturne and Tarantella and some short pieces for it. Oistrakh and Yampolsky made famous studio recordings of the sonata and The Fountain of Arethusa, but this is their only known document of the other two Myths. The pieces, written in 1915–16 with the encouragement of Kochan´ski – who assisted with the exotic violinistic effects – are among the treasures of the late Romantic repertoire but need first-rate players like these to reveal all their beauties. The same can be said of Ravel’s exciting Tzigane, composed for d’Arányi. We do have other Oistrakh recordings of it, including one with Yampolsky, but it is a piece which thrives on the frisson of a live occasion and here it meets a great virtuoso who can do it justice. Extract from the note © Tully Potter, 2008 “Don't miss this fabulous rarity - a genuinely unpublished recital from '58. The Szymanowski Myths "Narcissus" and "Dryads and Pan" extend the experience we already have of Oistrakh in the opening "Fountain of Arethusa" with seductive tone production, filigree passagework and a sense of play that perfectly matches Szymanowski's fantastical imagination. Utterly unmissable...” Gramophone Magazine, February 2009 “Best of this previously unpublished late-1950s Bucharest recital is Oistrakh's breathtaking account of Szymanowski's Myths. Despite poor piano sounds, the Franck Sonata and Ravel Tzigane are as compelling.” BBC Music Magazine, February 2009 ***** “Here we have a fabulous unpublished programme that not only offers us new David Oistrakh repertoire but, in the case of the works we do already have from him, delivers performances that are sufficiently distinctive to warrant the duplication.
Take César Franck's Sonata, where Oistrakh's vibrato is more expressively intense than it often is on disc and where Vladimir Yampolsky transcends his familiar 'accompanist' role to assert an individual musical personality with playing that in its freedom and grandeur at times reminded me of Cortot, no less. Ravel's Tzigane is another winner – witty, spontaneous, incisive in its attack and, near the end, dangerously fast.
Other available Oistrakh Tziganes also deliver, musically speaking, but none sounds quite so thrillingly off the cuff.
And then there are the newcomers to Oistrakh's discography, all of them fine works. The Szymanowski Myths 'Narcissus' and 'Dryads and Pan' extend the experience we already have of Oistrakh in the opening 'Fountain of Arethusa' with seductive tone production, filigree passagework and a sense of play that perfectly matches Szymanowski's fantastical imagination. The late and rather discursive Schumann Fantasy in C, presented here with Fritz Kreisler's rich piano reduction, is a true tour de force, bittersweet one moment, boldly virtuoso the next and graced by a uniquely rounded musical sensibility that left the world the day David Oistrakh died.
Happily we still have the records, with this 1958 Bucharest recital being one of the finest of all. The sound is fairly good, the balance variable but never skewed. Utterly unmissable.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Schumann: Complete Works for Violin and Orchestra
This release brings together Robert Schumann’s complete production for violin and orchestra – three works from the period just before the composer was confined to the mental institution where he would die within two years. The only work here that was performed in Schumann’s lifetime was the Fantasy in C major, dedicated to the violin virtuoso Joseph Joachim. Written shortly afterwards, the Violin Concerto in D minor was also intended this work for Joachim, but he never performed the work in public, and it remained unperformed until 1937. A dedicated advocate of Schumann’s music, the soloist Ulf Wallin has gone back to the composer's autographs in order to present these works in their purest form. He is aided by the fine team of the Robert-Schumann-Philharmonie and their conductor Frank Beerman. “Wallin captures a freshness and energy in his performance. Brushing aside those associations of madness that have coloured Schumann's music, Wallin and his equally dedicated orchestra and conductor have achieved new levels of understanding - listen to the captivating second movement of the Concerto in D minor to appreciate his poetic interpretation.” Classic FM Magazine, October 2011 **** “a fine case for this heinously neglected work.” Gramophone Magazine, February 2012 “Wallin has just the right sound for the music, sweetly expressive rather than brilliant...What makes these performances really special is the way they reveal the wayward passions under the music’s cosy, gentle surface. Wallin’s playing has a rhythmic flexibility which is exactly right for Schumann’s diffident impulsiveness...It’s hard to imagine more sympathetic and insightful performances of these wonderful pieces.” The Telegraph, 4th August 2011 ***** | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. (Available now to download.) |
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| |  | Schumann: Complete Works for Violin and Orchestra
Lena Neudauer (violin) Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, Pablo González This is a unique complete edition of all of Schumann’s works for violin and orchestra. All the recordings have been based on the new critical editions. This is particularly important for the Violin Concerto which has never been performed from an “urtext” edition. “Lena Neudauer plays all the music stylishly; her tone is notably smooth and expressive, and she shapes Schumann's melodic lines most sensitively...the performances always sound well, and Schumann's characteristic songfulness is realised in heartfelt fashion.” Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2010 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Benjamin Schmid plays Mendelssohn, Bruch & Schumann
Benjamin Schmid (violin) Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie, Daniel Raiskin Star musician Benjamin Schmid plays some of the most popular works for violin in the repertoire. | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. (Available now to download.) |
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| |  | Brahms & Schumann: Works for Violin and Orchestra
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Recorded live at Lincoln Center Festival 97 | | | Usually despatched in 8 - 10 working days. |
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| |  | Quasi una fantasia
Körber (Till Alexander), Walch (Martin) | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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Gramophone Magazine
