Elgar: Violin Concerto in B minor, Op. 61

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Znaider's determination makes a rather effective dramatic foil for Colin Davis's tender expansiveness...For Znaider the finale's other-worldly accompanied cadenza is clearly both its emotional... — BBC Music Magazine, May 2010, 3 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 1st Feb 2010
Catalogue No: 88697605882
Label: RCA
Length: 49 minutes

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Elgar: Violin Concerto in B minor, Op. 61

Work length49:23

Album only

Nikolaj Znaider (violin)
Sir Colin Davis

I. Allegro

Track length17:51

Album only

II. Andante

Track length12:10

Album only

III. Allegro molto

Track length19:22

Album only

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About

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the world premiere of Elgar’s Violin Concerto which took place on 10 November 1910 and was conducted by the composer himself, celebrated Danish violinist Nikolaj Znaider has recorded the concerto on the very same instrument that Kreisler performed the premiere: this is the first account on disc using this very special violin, a 1741 Guarneri del Gesu. Znaider will also tour the work globally throughout 2010 and will perform the Concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Colin Davis on 10 November 2010 at London’s Barbican Concert Hall – the anniversary to the day of the world premiere. Other UK performances include two concerts at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall on the 13th & 14th October 2010 with Halle and Mark Elder. The recording of the Concerto, conducted by Sir Colin Davis with the Dresden Staatskapelle, will be released to coincide with the beginning of the worldwide tour.

Nikolaj Znaider is not only celebrated as one of the foremost violinists of today, but is fast becoming one of the most versatile artists of his generation, uniting his talents as soloist, conductor and chamber musician. An exclusive RCA Red Seal recording artist, Nikolaj’s award winning recordings of the Bruch, Beethoven and Mendelssohn concerti have been greeted with great critical acclaim. The most recent addition to his discography is the Brahms and Korngold Violin Concerti with the Vienna Philharmonic and Valery Gergiev (88697103362). In July 2009, Nikolaj Znaider was voted the World’s Best Violinist by Classic FM magazine.

Reviews

May 2010

Znaider's determination makes a rather effective dramatic foil for Colin Davis's tender expansiveness...For Znaider the finale's other-worldly accompanied cadenza is clearly both its emotional heart and symphonic goal.

16th February 2010

in this most symphonic concerto it’s as much Davis and the Dresden orchestra’s performance....Znaider shifts effortlessly between heroic grandeur and heartfelt passion, introspection and intimacy; he whispers and caresses, then soars and declaims with both sweet regret and steely determination....this has something special, and it’s not simply because of the ‘ex-Kreisler’ Guarneri.

May 2010

Davis's introduction sets the tone for the whole reading as a whole, with plenty of detail on show, no sense of hurry, lots of colouristic variety and free rubato...And when Znaider's moment finally arrives he doesn't disappoint, his opening statement one of supreme beauty, his tone utterly alluring.

14th February 2010

Znaider’s yielding gradations of tempo and elasticity of phrasing, and subtle use of portamento... seem instinctive, and Davis gets equally idiomatic style from the Dresden orchestra... Znaider and Davis have the measure of [the piece's] musical depths in this outstanding, lovingly played account.

28th January 2010

Znaider is a wonderfully supple player, and his partnership with Colin Davis is clearly highly productive: the way Davis shapes the orchestra around Znaider's silvery spun line in the slow movement is an object lesson in how to support a soloist. Znaider also has all the virtuosity the bravura passages demand, and the way he launches the finale is dazzling.

7th February 2010

Occasionally, a recording comes along which radically changes a great piece: Nikolaj Znaider's amazing account of Elgar's Violin Concerto is revolutionary...His playing is phenomenally precise, electric in its impact

12th February 2010

[Znaider's] performance is masterly and deeply felt, describing an intangible world that hovers between tender nostalgia and passion...[Davis's] collaboration with Znaider combines structural security with expressive freedom in a way that makes all aspects of this multi-faceted work resonate with particular power, sensibility and beauty.

5th February 2010

Znaider and Davis [think] as one...Violin and orchestra weave through its poignant phrases with a clear grasp of the music’s architecture and the need for emotional balance...it’s all here, dispatched with love.

Offer,Elgar: Violin Concerto in B minor, Op. 61

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