Masterworks for Violin

Description

Violin, Piano — This collection of short violin masterworks opens with adelightful work by Franz Schubert (1797–1828) in an arrangementby Carl Friedberg (1872–1955), a German pianist whostudied with Clara Schumann. Although Friedberg becamea renowned teacher himself, numbering Percy Grainger andElly Ney among his pupils, he was also a marvelous pianist,and toured with Fritz Kreisler for several seasons. TheRondo featured here is an arrangement of the last movementfrom the composer’s Piano Sonata in D, op. 53. This transcriptionwas frequently performed by Kreisler, who especiallyprovided fingerings and bowings in the violin part for publication.This effective arrangement was featured not only inthe repertoire of the Viennese master, but also in programsby such diverse violinists as Szigeti and Heifetz.A setting of words by the German romantic poet HeinrichHeine, Felix Mendelssohn’s On Wings of Song remains thecomposer’s best known Lied. The brilliant violin arrangementfeatured here is not merely a transcription, but an elaborateparaphrase, displaying intricate double stops and tremolos, bythe Russian violinist Joseph Achron (1886–1943). Achron was apupil in Leopold Auer’s legendary violin class in St. Petersburg,and began his career as a performer. He settled in Californiawhere he made his living as a studio violinist, but alsocomposed energetically. His original works display a novel senseof harmony, inspiring Arnold Schoenberg to describe him as“one of the most underestimated of modern composers.”Mendelssohn also wrote a series of pieces for solo piano whichhe dubbed simply “Songs without Words.” He expressly avoidedgiving them titles, and once explained to someone who hadinquired about their meaning that “music is more specific thanwords.” These lovely piano miniatures were extremely popularin their day, and became staples of the Victorian age. TheSong without Words, op. 67 no. 6, was the last ever to be publishedin the composer’s lifetime, and is presented here in an exquisitetranscription by Mischa Elman (1891–1967). Another series ofpiano miniatures that gained favor in the mid-nineteenthcentury was the Lyric Pieces by Edvard Grieg (1843–1907). Elmanand Achron again provide imaginative arrangements of two ofthese: the haunting Notturno with its piquant harmonies, andthe lively, but mischievous Puck.Although remembered today almost exclusively for his groundbreakingmusic-dramas, Richard Wagner (1813–1883) began hismusical career as a composer of conventional instrumental music.He completed his First Symphony when he was nineteen, andhis first published work was a Piano Sonata in Bf, op. 1. TheAlbumblatt (also known as Romanze) was originally written for solopiano in Wagner’s late teens. The arrangement for violin and pianowas made by the German violinist August Wilhelmj (1845–1908),who fittingly enough served as Wagner’s concert master atBayreuth at the premiere of the composer’s Ring cycle in 1876.Niccolò Paganini (1782–1840) is undoubtedly the single mostinfluential figure in the history of violin playing. He jealouslyguarded his technical secrets, and published very few works inhis lifetime. Many of his famous compositions, including theconcertos, were only brought out posthumously. Franz Lisztwas among the many musicians who were mesmerized bythe Italian master, and, after hearing him perform the ConcertoNo. 2 in B minor, was inspired to make a breathtaking arrangementof the last movement. Dubbed La campanella (The Bell),Franz Liszt included it (before Paganini’s original was published)as one of his Six études d’après Paganini. Nearly a century laterthe Polish violinist Paul Kochanski re-transcribed Liszt’s arrangementback for the violin, incorporating many effects created byLiszt to make the virtuosic display on the violin even morebrilliant (and difficult) than Paganini’s original.As with most violinists who followed in the wake of Paganini,Heinrich Ernst (1814–1865) emulated the Italian master. Hisworks not only equal, but sometimes even surpass, Paganini’stechnical challenges. His Variations on “Carnival de Venise” andthe Concerto in Fs minor remain fiendishly difficult to play. Byway of contrast, he composed a tender Elegie, for which LouisSpohr composed a short Introduction. This soulful work can beregarded as one of the earliest violin encore works ever written.Another popular virtuoso piece from the same era is La Melancolieby François Hubert Prume (1816–1849), a Belgian violinist whospent several years in Stockholm. The original melody with itsthree variations, especially the tremolo passage work of the secondvariation, was extremely popular in the late-nineteenth century.One of the giants among virtuoso violinists of the nineteenthcentury was Heryk Wieniawski (1835–1880). Renowned for his fierytemperament and astounding technical prowess, Wieniawskiwas especially popular in Russia, where he was appointed assolo violinist to the Czar and professor at the St. PetersburgSchool of Music. Wieniawski returned to Europe in 1874, andtook up the distinguished position of violin professor left byVieuxtemps at the Brussels Conservatory. Wieniawski createdmany important works for the violin, including two breathtakingconcertos. His Capriccio-valse is a charming piece thatabounds in staccato passagework. Its gentle, playful characterrequires a virtuosity that is subtle, not obtrusive.The Hungarian violinist Jenö Hubay (1858–1937) becameWieniawski’s successor at the Brussels Conservatory. Hubayeventually returned to his native country, and became aprofessor at the Budapest Academy. He was an enormouslyinfluential teacher, and numbered Joseph Szigeti, Franz vonVecsey, Emil Telmanyi, Jelly d’Aranyi, Erna Rubinstein, and SteffiGeyer among his prize students. Hubay composed manyviolin works, including four concertos and a series of evocativelarger pieces for violin and orchestra known as the Scenes fromthe Czardas. He also wrote a large-scale opera based on thelife of the legendary violinmaker Antonio Stradivari. EntitledThe Violin Maker from Cremona, this two-act opera was firstperformed in Budapest in 1894, and received success abroadas well. The Intermezzo from this opera is a violin solo, whichbegins with the bare fifths of the open strings before launchinginto a passionate melody.The Romanian violinist Grigoras Dinicu (1889–1949) made hiscareer performing light music in hotels, restaurants, andnightclubs. His violin training was classically based, however,and in his early teens he studied with the noted pedagogueCarl Flesch at the Bucharest Conservatory. Jascha Heifetz wasextremely taken with Dinicu’s playing after hearing him at acafé in the early 1930s, and arranged one of his pieces asa concert encore. The Hora Staccato gained instant fame, andbrought international recognition to the composer.The names of Raff and Zarzycki are all but forgotten today exceptas composers of a single violin piece that they each wrote.Joachim Raff (1822–1882) began his career as a schoolteacher,but gained the attention of Mendelssohn who admired hiswork. The distinguished composer recommended Raff to thepublisher Breitkopf & Härtel, who brought out several shortxa0piano pieces as his first compositions. Raff wrote prolifically,composing over 200 works, including six operas, elevensymphonies, two violin concertos, and much chamber music. Hissoulful Cavatina for violin and piano, however, remains his mostrenowned composition. The expansive melody, initially statedon the rich G-string, displays Raff’s lyrical gift. This popularpiece, incidentally, was a favorite of Mischa Elman, who oftenprogrammed it to showcase his golden tone. The Polish-bornAleksander Zarzycki (1834–1895) wrote many short piano pieces,as well as a piano concerto and an Introduction et Cracoviennefor violin and orchestra. Nevertheless, his most popular workremains the brilliant Mazurka in G for violin and piano.Two of the works featured in this collection are by musicians whoultimately made their careers as music publishers. Franz Ries(1846–1932) studied the violin with Lambert Massart at the ParisConservatoire, and began his career as a violinist before enteringthe music-publishing business in his late twenties. He eventuallyfounded the Berlin-based publishing firm Ries and Erler. Hisdelightful La Capricciosa belongs to a whole genre of pieces inE major (such as Elgar’s La capriceuse and Hubay’s Zepyhr),whose carefree mood is punctuated by delicate richochet bowings.The New York-born Gustav Saenger (1865–1935) studied violinwith Louis Damrosch, and began his musical career as an orchestralviolinist. He began his association with Carl Fischer in 1897 whenhe was employed as an arranger, and eventually became theeditor-in-chief of music publications. Saenger also edited theFischer periodicals Metronome and the Musical Observer fornearly thirty years. He composed many short pieces for violinand piano, of which the evocative Scotch Pastorale is perhaps hismost enchanting. Its folk-like simplicity evokes a leisurely mood,which belies the difficulty of its intricate double-stop writing.Johannes Brahms (1833–1897) was greatly attracted to gypsymusic, and often featured the Magyar idiom in his compositions(such as the last movements of Piano Quartet No. 1, ViolinConcerto and “Double” Concerto). He brought out two sets ofHungarian Dances for piano, four hands. These collectionsbrought him instant renown, and became Brahms’s most popularworks. He only regarded them as “arrangements,” however, anddid not assign them an opus number. All twenty-one danceswere subsequently transcribed for violin with piano accompanimentby the violinist Joseph Joachim (1831–1907), a champion ofBrahms’ music. The lively Hungarian Dance No. 6 included hereis one of the most popular of the set.This collection includes four works in a Spanish idiom. EnriqueGranados (1867–1916) began his career as a brilliant pianist, andeventually became the foremost representative of the Spanishnationalist school of composers. His most renowned work wasa set of piano pieces inspired by the paintings of Goya, andentitled Goyescas. Granados later adapted the set for an operawith the same name. Soon after this opera’s triumphant premiereat the Metropolitan Opera in 1916, Granados was killed on boardthe ship S. S. Sussex which was gunned down by a Germansubmarine while crossing the English Channel. The Danse espagnolefeatured here is an arrangement for violin and piano of one ofGranados’s solo piano works by the renowned French violinistJacques Thibaud, who also died tragically in an airplane crash enroute to a concert tour in South East Asia.The brilliant Spanish violinist Pablo de Sarasate (1844–1908) madehis first public appearance as a soloist at the age of eight.Through the sponsorship of Queen Isabella II, he went to studywith Jean-Delphin Alard at the Paris Conservatory where heachieved the premier prix in violin at age thirteen and in harmonya year later. Rossini marvelled at the brilliance of the youngviolinist, and noted that he was “a giant in talent whosemodesty doubles his charm.” Sarasate became one of the mostadmired violinists of the late nineteenth century, and was thededicatee of such renowned virtuoso violin concertos as Saint-Saëns’s Concerto No. 3 in B minor, Wieniawski’s Concerto No. 2in D minor, Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy, and Lalo’s Symphonieespagnole. Sarasate himself contributed significantly to the violinrepertoire with his many Spanish dances, such as the Capricebasque and Romanza andaluza included here.The Spanish violinist Jesús de Monasterio (1836–1903) studiedwith Charles de Bériot at the Brussels Conservatory, and receivedthe prix d’honneur at the age of sixteen. After his studies, hereturned to his native city, and became a violin professor at theRoyal Conservatory in Madrid. He was offered the positionsof concertmaster of the Weimar Court Orchestra under Liszt andthe professorship at the Brussels Conservatory after de Bériot’sretirement, but declined them both out of loyalty to his nativecountry. He wrote several orchestral works, including a ViolinConcerto in B minor, but is best known for his delightfulSpanish-flavored miniatures, of which Sierra morena, includedhere, remains his most well known.The tango is an Argentinean dance that originated in the poorneighborhoods of Buenos Aires in the late-nineteenth century.Characteristically, the dancers hold one another in a tightembrace while gesturing in violent movements. The Tango bythe Russian violinist Mischa Elman is more tender in mood,but retains an undercurrent of this sultry quality. The Levee-Dance by the African-American violinist composer ClarenceCameron White (1880–1960) originates from the Southern states.Born in Tennessee, White studied in London (where he workedwith Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, the British violinist of Africandescent) and Paris. He composed many short pieces for violin,arranged many spirituals for voice and piano, and wrote anopera and a ballet. The Levee Dance, op. 27 no. 4, abounds insyncopated rhythms, and contains a contrasting middle section,in the form of a soulful setting of the spiritual Go down Moses.Franz Lehár (1870–1948) made a living as a violinist in his earlyyears, but gradually turned to composition. He was encouraged inthis by Dvořák, and eventually gained international fame withhis operetta The Merry Widow, completed in 1905. The work’snostalgic charm echoed the masterful operettas of JohannStrauss II of the mid-nineteenth century. Lehár’s delightful“Kreisler” Serenade was written especially for the Vienneseviolinist, who embodied the grace and sophisticated humor ofa by-gone era.Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895–1968) began his career aspianist, and studied composition with Ildebrando Pizzetti. Bornin Florence, Castelnuovo-Tedesco was forced to leave Italyin 1938 because of his Jewish ancestry. He immigrated toLos Angeles where he worked briefly in film industry (he wrotethe score to Gaslight, which stars Ingrid Bergman and CharlesBoyer). He wrote much chamber music, solo piano music, andsongs, and also several large operas, based on Shakespeare’sMerchant of Venice and All’s Well That Ends Well, Hans ChristianAndersen’s fairy tale The Princess and the Pea, and Oscar Wilde’sThe Importance of Being Earnest. Jascha Heifetz performedCastelnuovo-Tedesco’s First and Second Violin Concertos, andthe composer’s brilliant and humorous paraphrase on “Largo alfactorum,” a virtuoso romp through Rossini’s most famous buffoaria from The Barber of Seville, was especially intended for the“no-holds-barred” approach of the inimitable virtuoso violinist. A massive collection (piano score – 207 pages, violin part – 87 pages), Masterworks for Violin includes some of the most “beloved” concert pieces for the violin, many of which have been out of print for years. With 25 renowned works for violin and piano, the book features transcriptions and compositions by Joseph Joachim, Jascha Heifetz, Jacques Thibaud, Misha Elman, Leopold Auer, Gustav Saenger, August Wilhelmj, among others. The titles in Masterworks for Violin are concert level and will be outstanding repertoire for the serious violinist.