VIEUXTEMPS: Violin Concertos 5 - 7

Arnhem Philharmonic Orchestra, Keylin, Misha, Mogrelia, Andrew, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Yuasa, Takuo

8.557016

Vieuxtemps was undoubtedly one of the greatest violinists of his time, combining superb technical command with deeper musical understanding. He may be seen as representative of the Franco-Belgian school of players, the successor of de Bériot, while those who were taught by him or fell under his direct influence include his pupil Eugène Ysaÿe, Jenö Hubay and Leopold Auer. • The fifth of Vieuxtemps’ completed violin concertos, the Concerto in A minor, Op. 37, was written in 1858 and 1859 for Hubert Léonard at the Brussels Conservatoire, who wanted the work as a competition piece. The work was much admired by Léonard and by the legendary Leopold Auer. • The Violin Concerto No. 6 in G major, Op. 47, and the Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 49, belong to the last year of Vieuxtemps’ life, spent at Mustapha Supérieur in Algeria. He set some store by these works, although he was unable to make any final revisions that might have been possible had he been able to hear the hoped for performance by Eugène Ysaÿe. He dedicated the sixth concerto to the Czech violinist Wilma Normand-Neruda and the seventh to Jenö Hubay, both of whom were among his visitors in Algeria. • The seventh concerto makes marginally greater demands on virtuosity. The first movement, briefly introduced by the orchestra, offers the two themes of traditional sonata form, which return in recapitulation in E minor and A major respectively, leading to a brilliant coda. The slow movement, with the apt title Mélancolie, is in A minor. It leads to a final movement with an opening Tarantella theme, followed by a theme of Spanish implication, echoed in its orchestral accompaniment.

CD x 1

Naxos

7.04.2003

747313201624