Release Date: 30 June 2006
Label: Naxos / Naxos Classics
Packaging Type: Jewel Case
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 747313276721
Genres: Classical
Composer/Series: SARASATE
Description
Pablo Sarasate (1844-1908) Spanish Dances The great Spanish violinist Pablo Sarasate was born in Pamplona in 1844, the son of a military bandmaster. After study in Madrid with Manuel Rodriguez Saez, a pupil of Jules Armingaud, the leader of the quartet of which Edouard Lalo was a member, he entered the Paris Conservatoire at the age of twelve, with the aid of a scholarship from Queen Isabella and the Province of Navarre. Here he became a pupil of Jean-Delphin Alard and also embarked on the study of composition. He won first prize for violin in 1857 and the following year for solf?¿ge, and in 1859 for harmony as a pupil of Henri Reber. By the age of fifteen, however, Sarasate had launched himself on a concert career, at first winning a reputation in Spain and France, before more extended tours to North and South America and throughout the rest of Europe. Composers who wrote for him included Saint-Sa?½ns, Bruch, Lalo, Wieniawski and Dvořak, and he remained distinguished for the purity and beauty of his tone, perfection of technique and musical command. He refused, however, to play Brahms's Violin Concerto, claiming that the only proper melody in the work was given to the oboe. His playing was in contrast to that of his older contemporary Joseph Joachim, who represented a more characteristically German attitude to performance. For his own use Sarasate wrote a number of works for violin and piano or violin and orchestra, including, as might be expected, compositions based on Spanish themes and rhythms. Following the common practice of his time, he also wrote concert fantasies based on themes from popular operas of the day, of which the best known remains his Carmen Fantasy. The great violinist Carl Flesch described Sarasate's music as 'like a fresh, rosy-cheeked peasant girl'. It is music of infinite charm and elegance. There is also the element of passion and virtuosity, and at times, great imagination. As a composer, Sarasate was prolific. His works can be divided into five general groups. The first group contains compositions in the folk idiom, the second consists of opera fantasies, the third group are 'original' compositions and the fourth group are some excellent transcriptions, with the last group consisting of a few cadenzas to violin concertos. This first album of Sarasate compositions includes eleven works definitely in the Spanish folk idiom, and one work which hints at its Spanish heritage. [Track 1] Taking the pieces in performance order, we know that the Habanera, Op. 21, No. 2, is based on the aria 'De la patria del cacao, del chocolate y del cafe' (From the country of cocoa, chocolate and coffee) from a popular Spanish operetta, the zarzuela La Gallina Ciega (The Blind Hen) by Fernando Caballero. Sarasate's friend Lalo used the same theme in his cello concerto. [2] The Playera, Op. 23, No. 1, is an example of the canto hondo, a passionate gypsy song from Southern Spain, and very flamenco in its passion. [3] Malague
Tracklisting
Dariia Lytvishko
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra; Marin Alsop
Alice Di Piazza; Basel Sinfonietta; NDR Bigband; Titus Engel
Anna Alas i Jove; Miquel Villalba
David Childs; Black Dyke Band; Nicholas Childs
Yang Zheng; Xinxin Song; ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra; Gottfried Rabl
Spectrum Concerts Berlin
Robert Trent
