Ion Voicu: The Decca Recordings

Ion Voicu has an agreeable warm tone … Monique Haas is superb in the Debussy — Gramophone Magazine, August 1968 More…

Release Date: 16th Mar 2015
Catalogue No: ELQ4807841
Label: Eloquence
Length: 2 hours 29 minutes

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Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64

Work length27:14

Ion Voicu (violin)
London Symphony Orchestra
Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Recorded: 1965-02-20
Recording Venue: Kingsway Hall, London

1. Allegro molto appassionato

Track length13:03

2. Andante

Track length7:52

3. Allegro molto vivace

Track length6:19

Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26

Work length24:41

Ion Voicu (violin)
London Symphony Orchestra
Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
Recorded: 1965-02-20
Recording Venue: Kingsway Hall, London

1. Vorspiel (Allegro moderato)

Track length8:55

2. Adagio

Track length8:18

3. Finale (Allegro energico)

Track length7:28

Prokofiev: Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2 in D, Op. 94a

Work length21:54

Ion Voicu (violin), Monique Haas (piano)
Recorded: 1967-06-23
Recording Venue: Kingsway Hall, London

1. Moderato

Track length6:21

2. Scherzo (Presto)

Track length4:40

3. Andante

Track length3:32

4. Allegro con brio

Track length7:21

Milhaud: Violin Sonata No. 2, Op. 40

Work length16:04

Ion Voicu (violin), Monique Haas (piano)
Recorded: 1967-06-23
Recording Venue: Kingsway Hall, London

1. Pastoral

Track length5:04

2. Vif

Track length2:55

3. Très lent

Track length4:00

4. Très vif

Track length4:05

Debussy: Violin Sonata in G minor

Work length12:59

Ion Voicu (violin), Monique Haas (piano)
Recorded: 1967-06-23
Recording Venue: Kingsway Hall, London

1. Allegro vivo

Track length4:42

2. Intermède (Fantasque et léger)

Track length4:15

3. Finale (Très animé)

Track length4:02

Ravel: Violin Sonata in G major

Work length17:00

Ion Voicu (violin), Victoria Stefanescu (piano)
Recorded: 1972-04-26
Recording Venue: Sofiensaal, Vienna

1. Allegretto

Track length7:17

2. Blues (Moderato)

Track length5:44

3. Perpetuum mobile (Allegro)

Track length3:59

Excerpt, Ysaÿe: Sonata for solo violin in G major, Op. 27 No. 5

Work length7:30

Ion Voicu (violin), Victoria Stefanescu (piano)
Recorded: 1972-04-26
Recording Venue: Sofiensaal, Vienna

Enescu: Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano in F minor, Op. 6

Work length22:19

Ion Voicu (violin), Victoria Stefanescu (piano)
Recorded: 1972-04-26
Recording Venue: Sofiensaal, Vienna

1. Assez mouvementé

Track length8:00

2. Tranquillement

Track length6:41

3. Vif

Track length7:38

About
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About

Ion Voicu was a legend in his own country, Romania, and in the profession at large, and appeared in most major musical centres. Yet he was not as well known in the English-speaking countries as he should have been. The long cold war and the dictatorial regime in his native land were mainly to blame for this state of affairs; but fortunately Voicu was able to make a few precious recordings on visits to the west.

Ion Voicu was born into this gypsy tradition in Bucharest on 8 October 1923. His father was a violinist and the family could trace their musical involvement back 300 years. He made his concert début aged sixteen, with Paganini’s First Concerto.

Ion Voicu died in Bucharest on 24 February 1997. ‘He was an outstanding violinist with a superb technique,’ says his Romanian successor Sherban Lupu. ‘His performances of the Paganini First Concerto were spectacularly memorable. I grew up as a small boy with him as a model for me, an aspiring young student. He was a very pleasant man – I got to know him better in 1974 when he was a member of the jury at the Carl Flesch competition in London and I was a prizewinner.’

His Decca recordings ranged from the popular – the Mendelssohn and Bruch Concertos, a favourite coupling in the LP era – to the highly discriminating. This collection, bringing together his three recordings for Decca, include several twentieth-century sonatas for violin and piano with Monique Haas and Voicu’s compatriot Victoria Stefanescu.

All these recordings receive their first release on CD, and Tully Potter provides the insightful liner notes.

Reviews

August 1968

Ion Voicu has an agreeable warm tone … Monique Haas is superb in the Debussy

February 1973

A nicely planned and very well played recital. […] Voicu’s playing, for me has an unusually satisfying musical conviction, supported by a virtuoso authority second to none. […] Mr. Voicu has a superb legato and plays long melodies gloriously… I find him constantly interesting to listen to.

September 1965

Ion Voicu is a player of considerable quality and with a lot of technique […] He plays the Bruch with impeccable technique

Ion Voicu: The Decca Recordings

2 CDs

Contents

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