Albert Sammons - Elgar:Violin Concerto / Violin Sonata - ImportCD

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Albert Sammons

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Elgar(1857-1934):. Contents 1-3. violin concerto in B minor, Op. 61 1. I. Allegro 2. II. andante 3. III. Allegro molto Violin Sonata in E minor, Op. 82 4. I. Allegro 5. II. Romance: Andante 6. III. Allegro non troppo 7-10. Violin Concerto in B minor, Op. 61 (excerpts) 7. I. Allegro 8. II. 9. III. 10. Allegro molto Performers Albert Sammons (Violin) New Queen's Hall Orchestra ... 1-3 Orchestras ... 7-9 Sir Henry WOOD (Conductor) William Murdoch (Piano) ... 4-6 Recording/Publication:March 18, 1929/Columbia L 2346/50 (Matrices WAX 4785/94)---1-3 February 2, 1935/Columbia 68392/94 (Matrices CAX 7421/26)...4-6 March 14, 1916/Columbia L 1071/2 (Matrices WAX 6780/83)---7-10 Memorable recordings by Elgar's favorite violinist reissued Elgar began his musical career as a violinist, and composing a violin concerto was one of his dreams. The original idea dates back to 1890, but it was realized in 1910 at the request of Fritz Kreisler. Kreisler performed the piece for the first time, but there is no evidence that he played it with much enthusiasm after that, and there are no recordings of it. Instead, it was Albert Sammons who helped popularize the piece. Sammons first attracted the attention of the British music world when he played this piece in 1914, and he continued to perform it from time to time, making the world's first recording of it. As a member of a string quartet, he premiered Elgar's String Quartet and Piano Quintet. Although he missed the premiere of the Violin Sonata, he performed it repeatedly. As a token of his appreciation, Elgar presented Sammons with his own James Dabbs bow. Sammons was born in 1886 to a shoemaker in west London. His father and older brother, both avid amateur violinists, taught him to play the violin at the age of seven, and he quickly rose through the ranks, graduating from school at age 12 to become the leader of the Earls Court orchestra. While continuing to play, he studied violin with Alfredo Fernandez, a pupil of Ysaÿe, and others, and came to know Casals, Thibaud, and Szymanowski.Isay later presented him with a Tolt bow, and in 1911 he became the royal musician to King George V of England. In 1914, when Sammons performed Elgar's Violin Concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Vassily Safonov, the Sunday Times praised him as "a first-class soloist suddenly revealed himself" and he got his break. He remained one of the leading violinists of the British musical world until his retirement in 1948 due to illness, premiering the violin concerto by Diliath and the second violin sonata by Ierland, and being dedicated the first sonatas by Bantock and Goossens. The London String Quartet, of which he was leader, also dedicated works by Vaughan Williams and Bridge. There are two Elgar violin concertos included here. Tracks 7-10 are a shortened version cut to fit on two SP records (4 sides), and this was the first record of the piece. Tracks 1-3 are the complete recording and can be called Sammons' masterpiece; at 43 minutes, it is one of the shortest recordings of the piece of all time, and it is a masterful performance, with Elgar's characteristic melancholy but not drowned in it, and full of song and lyricism amidst a high level of dignity and tension. Henry Wood's conducting is also excellent, keeping the music in a large flow while drawing out the various musical ideas. The sound quality is excellent considering the age of the recording. It is said that when Heifetz recorded the piece in 1949, he visited Sammons to discuss it. Beyond its significance as a historical legacy that conveys the composer's direct interpretation, this is a performance that is worth listening to now that more and more recordings of the piece are available. (Naxos Japan)