Gil Shaham performs:
- 1930’s Violin Concertos.
The time during the 1930’s was an incredibly rich decade for the violin concerto. Over 30 violin concertos materialized across the decade, with well over a dozen – from Stravinsky and Berg’s through to Barber’s and Britten’s concertos – all commanding iconic status within the violinist’s repertory.
This collection offers the listener some of the great compositions of that decade:
Barber, S:
- Violin Concerto, Op. 14, with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, David Robertson conducting.
Alban Berg:
- Violin Concerto ‘To the Memory of an Angel’ (1935), with the Staatskapelle Dresden, David Robertson conducting.
- Violin Concerto in D minor Op. 15, with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Juanjo Mena conducting.
Hartmann, K:
- Concerto Funèbre for violin & string orchestra, performed with the Sejong Soloists.
Stravinsky:
- Violin Concerto in D, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, David Robertson conducting.
Performed by Gil Shaham (violin).
Gil Shaham is one of the leading violinist of his generation. He was awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 1990, and in 2008 he received the coveted Avery Fisher Prize. In 2012, Gil Shaham was named ‘Instrumentalist of the Year’ by Musical America.
Gil Shaham’s recording of the Barber Violin Concerto displays his rich tone, as well as the sounds of urban America when called for – skyscrapers and sirens clearly manifest themselves in the last movement.
The weeping, if not lamenting, solo violin in the Alban Berg concerto, brings out the emotion suggested by the subtitle “To the Memory of an Angel.”
Regarding Hartmann’s Concerto Funebre, the New York Times observed from a concert performance that Mr. Shaham “perfectly characterized the work’s anguished and occasionally angry spirit”.
Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto shows us an interpretation, which is luminous, light and dancing.
Benjamin Britten’s concerto is the most challenging work of this collection, and it shows another side of Shaham’s musical personality. This is a work with a martial-like drama.
Gramophone Magazine wrote in April 2014:
“What first struck me … is how Shaham, a fine musician even 20 or so years ago, has matured as a player…his range of expression wider, more sensitive to the rise and fall of a phrase…this is a most distinguished release and I can’t wait for the second installment.”
Here is Gil Shaham in the Barber Violin Concerto:
And next, here is Mr. Shaham, performing the Stravinsky Violin Concerto – 1st Movement:
Finally, here is something that is not included in this recording: The Sibelius Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47, as performed by Violinist Gil Shaham:
Tags: Gil Shaham, Violin concertos from 1930’s, Samuel Barber, Alban Berg, Hartmann, Stravinsky, Benjamin Britten