Yehudi Menuhin:
- The Early Years
Many years ago, a young Menuhin began to play and to record the Bach sonatas and Partitas. The musical spirit that the 17-year old lad put into this cycle still remains amazing 80 years after having been recorded.
And there are many more miracles on this collection of 12 CD’s, from his first Mozart recording (1929), the Mozart and Bach concertos under Pierre Monteux, to the Elgar violin concerto under the composer himself (another legendary historical moment).
One of my great favorites is how Yehudi Menuhin presented the second movement of the Brahms concerto back in those days. It truly seems like every single note is presented in a unique way.
This album includes the following selections:
Bach, J S:
Violin Concerto No. 1 in A minor, BWV1041
Violin Concerto No. 2 in E major, BWV1042
Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, BWV1043
Partitas Nos. 1-6, BWV825-830
Beethoven:
Violin Sonata No. 9 in A major, Op. 47 ‘Kreutzer’
Brahms:
Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 108
Chausson:
Poème for Violin & Orchestra, Op. 25
Dvorak:
Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 53
Elgar:
Violin Concerto in B minor, Op. 61
Enescu:
Violin Sonata No. 3 in A minor, Op. 25 ‘dans le caractère populaire roumain’
Lalo:
Symphonie espagnole, Op. 21
Mendelssohn:
Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64
Mozart:
Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major, K216
Violin Concerto No. 7 in D major, KV 271a
Violin Concerto in D major ‘Adelaide’, KAnh.294a
Violin Concerto No. 4 in D major, K218
Paganini:
Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major, Op. 6
Prokofiev:
Violin Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 80
Ravel:
Vocalise-étude en forme de habanera
Tzigane
Schubert:
Rondo brillant in B minor, D895 (Op. 70)
Szymanowski:
Nocturne & Tarantella, Op. 28
Wieniawski:
Légende in G minor, Op. 17
Performed by Yehudi Menuhin (violin)
Here are Yehudi Menuhin and Sergiu Celibidache in a rehearsal of Brahms’ Violin Concerto – 1946:
And here is Yehudi Menuhin playing the Beethoven violin concerto:
Tags: Yehudi Menuhin, Bach, Brahms, Mozart, the Early Years