performed by Yefim Bronfman, Truls Mørk and Gil Shaham with the Tonhalle Orchestra under David Zinman, or below by the Chamber Orchestra of Europe under Bernard Haitink with: Renaud Capuçon, violin Gautier Capuçon, cello Frank Braley, piano So our first … Continue reading Beethoven Triple Concerto in C major, op. 56
featuring Lisa Casal-Galietta, artistic director of the Red Door Chamber Players, available here or in iTunes In a previous episode, a guest spoke to me convincingly about ‘entry points’ to classical music. We’re fortunate in this day and age to have … Continue reading Podcast: A (Red) Door to Classical
performed by Salvatore Accardo and the London Philharmonic under Charles Dutoit It’s Paganini! How haven’t we done Paganini here yet? His name has only (to my recollection) been uttered on these pages in the context of an incredible concert earlier this year where … Continue reading Niccolò Paganini: Violin Concerto No. 5 in A minor
performed by Anne-Sophie Mutter and the Vienna Philharmonic under Herbert von Karajan Yes, the four seasons. All of them. And yeah, it’s that melody. The one that’s recognizable to a fault. It’s the one people call to mind when they think of a fancy, … Continue reading Antonio Vivaldi: Le Quattro Stagioni
performed by Yamei Yu and the Leipziger Streichquartett, available here or in iTunes Gustav Allan Pettersson was born on 19 September 1911, “the youngest of four children of a violent, alcoholic blacksmith… at the manor of Granhammar in Västra Ryd parish in … Continue reading Gustav Allan Pettersson: Violin Concerto no. 1 for violin and string quartet
performed (and premiered) by Maria Bachmann and Jon Klibonoff, second movement below The last work in our little series of pieces for the violin is a very recent work, having only been premiered in 2009. The piece was written specifically for Bachmann, and … Continue reading Glass Sonata for Violin and Piano
performed by Gidon Kremer and the Vienna Philharmonic under Christoph von Dohnanyi, or below by Karen Gomyo and the Hague Residentie Orchestra under Brad Lubman “I wrote the piece in 1987 thinking, let me write a piece that my father … Continue reading Glass Violin Concerto no. 1
featuring violinist Ray Chen The concert season is starting back up. It feels like it’s been ages since I’ve been in the concert hall, and I guess it has been. With the exception of an outstanding Othello at the beginning of July, the last … Continue reading TSO’s Heroic Voices
performed by David Oistrakh and Sviatoslav Richter Dmitri had been wanting to write a new, second concerto for me as a present for my 60th birthday. However, there was an error of one year in his timing. The concerto was … Continue reading Shostakovich Sonata for Violin and Piano in G, Op. 134
performed by Nicola Benedetti and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under Kirill Karabits (a new and wonderful recording) or below by the dedicatee and premiere performer of the work, David Oistrakh, and the Staatskapelle Berlin under Heinz Fricke There are many kinds of … Continue reading Shostakovich Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Opus 77 (99)
performed by Gil Shaham and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Pierre Boulez, or below by Viktoria Mullova and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra under Daniel Harding (maybe not a historical recording, but Mullova’s name is one I’ve recently learned and it’s … Continue reading Bartok Violin Concerto no. 2, BB 117
performed by David Oistrakh and Sviatoslav Richter, from the recital in the Grand Hall of Moscow Conservatory in 1972 I’d like to say I planned it, but I didn’t. Both of Bartok’s violin sonatas, written within a year or so … Continue reading Bartok Violin Sonata no. 1, Sz.75/BB 84
performed by Itzhak Perlman and the New York Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta or in its original piano-accompaniment version, with Midori Goto as soloist, a must-watch: I left today’s earlier work for later in the week for a few reasons. For one, … Continue reading Ravel: Tzigane
performed by Viktoria Mullova and Bruno Canino (more about Mullova below), or below by Renaud Capuçon and (the outstandingly lovely) Hélène Grimaud Who would have thought the first violin sonata we’d tackle on this blog (after almost three years of pretty dedicated listening … Continue reading Ravel: Violin Sonata No. 2 in G major
If you’ve read this blog for any length of time (as in, any more than about twice), you’ll know I’m a sucker for a good series. I try to approach things in an organized, logical manner, so I like to … Continue reading Various Violin Virtuosity
performed by Isaac Stern and the New York Philharmonic under Bernstein (at least listed in iTunes as such) or below with Stern and others part 2 part 3 I’d never thought to look at all the credits on this album and see who was involved in … Continue reading Bach Violin Concerto in A minor, BWV 1041
And the third in a series of two-night features that will continue through into next year. The only difference is that I’m not going to both evenings this time. I can only attend the second night, but a good friend is … Continue reading Concert Review: Munich Philharmonic and 曾宇謙
performed by Oistrakh/Knushevitsky/Oborin, or the Beaux Arts Trio, or anyone else So… for whatever reason, this piece just does not resonate with me. I’ve really tried. I’ve done my homework, I know it’s a common piece in the repertoire. I … Continue reading Chopin Piano Trio, op. 8
performed by Szeryng/Fournier/Kempff or below by Vegh/Casals/Horszowski Our third and final Beethoven trio for now is the opus 1 no. 3 trio, the most daring of them all. Haydn approved of the first two trios, but suggested with whatever degree … Continue reading Beethoven Piano Trio no. 3 in Cm, op. 1 no. 3
performed again by Szeryng/Fournier/Kempff, or as below Again, same opus number, same year, same performance dates as yesterday. What’s new is a quiet, serene, classical personality, the “quiet middle child” as expressed in this fantastic article that was an excellent … Continue reading Beethoven Piano Trio no. 2 in G, op. 1, no 2.
performed by Henryk Szeryng, violin; Pierre Fournier, cello; Wilhelm Kempff, piano; or below by the Istomin/Stern/Rose trio That’s a lot of ones. I have a confession to make. This is the first piano trio I’ve ever listened to in full, … Continue reading Beethoven Piano Trio no. 1 in Eb, op. 1. no.1