Isabelle Faust - Britten:Violin Concerto / Chamber Works - Import CD

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Isabelle Faust

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Faust sings the violin concerto full of Britten's charming melodies. Isabelle Faust has recorded Britten's Violin Concerto! The orchestra is the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra led by Frusha, a superb lineup. Faust's dazzling tone is brilliant and penetrating, and the orchestra gives a superb performance with everyone giving their all. Britten's Violin Concerto was written under the influence of Alban Berg's Violin Concerto, but it is also a masterpiece full of Britten's own charming melodies. From the spectacular scenes to the godlike beauty of the final part of the work, this is a marvelous masterpiece. The coupling is also a gorgeous recording of chamber music with Melnikov on piano, including the world premiere recording of Britten's "Two Pieces" from when he was 16 years old. Britten (1913-1976) began composing his first violin concerto in 1938.It is said that he was inspired by Alban Berg's Violin Concerto, which he heard premiered at the International Festival of Contemporary Music in 1936. The Violin Concerto was written for Antonio Brossa, a Spanish violinist (settled in London in 1914), and premiered at Carnegie Hall in March 1940 by the New York Philharmonic under Barbirolli. Britten's sentiments about the political upheaval of his time seem to be reflected in the serious instrumental music of this work. The opening of the piece begins with an impressive march-like opening with the soft sound of timpani and cymbals, followed by the appearance of the violins, which play a very cool melody in an elegiac style. From this point on, Faust's glorious tone bursts forth, and the Faustian mood is in full force. The way he sings and plays is astonishing. The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra led by Frusha was very attentive to each and every dialogue between the soloist and the orchestra. The second movement, the Vivace, was extremely violent and ferocious. The third movement is a series of emotional ups and downs, and the piece closes with a magnificent yet divinely beautiful final movement.Faust's soloist's uncanny expression and timbre stood out from start to finish, and Frusha and the orchestra responded with their whole hearts and souls. A rare masterpiece was born. The next piece on the program is a chamber music piece that includes piano. The "Suite" was composed immediately after Britten heard Berg's Violin Concerto, and was performed prior to the Violin Concerto by Antonio Brossa and Britten. It was premiered by Antonio Brossa and Britten himself prior to the violin concerto. It is a work full of Britten's brilliance, not only in the relentless virtuosity demanded of the violin part, but also in the modernist language and the neoclassicism of Stravinsky. Reveille was also written for Antonio Brossa and premiered at the Wigmore Hall on April 12, 1937, with Franz Reisenstein at the piano. The piano softly repeats its regular clock-like movements, while the violinist slowly awakens, then rhapsodically rhapsodizes over the melody, and finally displays his virtuosity on the instrument in a more intense manner. The world premiere recording of Two Pieces was completed on December 12 and 24, 1929, shortly after Britten's 16th birthday; the work was finally published in 2013, marking the appearance of a world premiere recording by the finest members of the ensemble: Faust, Boris Faust, and Melnikov. Two mysterious and focused pieces with an astonishing understanding of the innovations of Scriabin, Schoenberg, Berg, and others. The piano part is also impressive for its astonishing beauty (the writing is beautiful, and Melnikov's playing is superb). (King International) Contents Britten: Violin Concerto op.15(1939, revised in 1958) Violin Concerto op.15(1939, revised in 1958) 1. 1. moderato con moto-agitato-tempo primo 2. vivace - animando - largamente - cadenza Passacaglia: Andante lento (un poco meno mosso) Isabelle Faust (violin) Jakub Frusha, conductor Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra Live recording: October 28-29, 2021 Reveille (concert study for violin and piano accompaniment) (1937) Suite (1936) 5. 5. introduction 6. march 7. impetuous movement 8. lullaby 9. waltz Isabelle Faust (Violin) Alexander Melnikov (Piano) Violin,2 Pieces for Viola and Piano (1929) [*World premiere recording]. 10. un poco andante 11. allegro con morto morto Isabelle Faust (Violin) Boris Faust (viola) Alexander Melnikov Chamber music (tracks 4-11) recorded at Teldex Studios, April 2022 64:57