In terms of genre, Allan Pettersson was uniquely single-minded: during his entire career as a composer (1953–80) he produced only a dozen or so works that were not symphonies. By name, Violin Concerto No. 2 is one of these, but it is fair to say that it straddles the divide. Pettersson himself remarked: ‘In reality my work was a Symphony for violin and orchestra. From this results the fact that the solo violin is incorporated into the orchestra like any other instrument.’ It should therefore not come as a surprise that Christian Lindberg has chosen to include this massive 53-minute work in his acclaimed and award-winning series of Pettersson’s symphonies, realized in collaboration with the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra. The concerto was written in 1977, 28 years after its predecessor, the Concerto for Violin and String Quartet (1949). In that work, written while Pettersson was still studying, the composer was experimenting with radical ideas that are not to be found in his later compositions. Concerto No. 2 is rather characterized by the central role given to one of Pettersson’s Barefoot Songs – a trait that appears in several other mature works. Throughout the score, the song ‘The Lord walks in the meadow’ provides motivic material but is also quoted extensively. The hugely challenging solo part was first performed by Ida Haendel in 1980, and is here taken up by Ulf Wallin, who with an extensive discography has already proved himself to be one of the most intrepid violinists of today. The album closes with Pettersson’s last musical thoughts: a 207-bar long fragment generally regarded and referred to as a sketch for the composer’s Seventeenth Symphony. The fragment has been performed in public on one or two occasions, but it is only now that a wider public is given the opportunity to hear it.

Fanned by the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, the longing for pure wilderness and the cultivation of rural life, the Nordic National Romanticism arises. All three composers on this album are descendants of this Nordic Romanticism. Although they did not all have the same nationality, their lives are intertwined. In their compositions, Svendsen and Halvorsen remain in form and harmony close to the music of their good friend Edvard Grieg and the distinctive Nordic use of melody; Carl Nielsen, however, goes on a voyage of discovery towards a new idiom with a strong desire for renewal on the one hand and a great need for the revival of the pure archaic on the other. His violin concerto clearly shows this conflict. In a neo-classical 4-part form, reminiscent of the setup of the Baroque concerto grosso, with seemingly simple classical-like themes and references to both Bach and Mozart, he takes the listeners on an incredible adventure throughout Nordic landscapes of pure wilderness and takes all sorts of harmonic and rhythmic twists and turns. Lisa Jacobs writes: "Since the first time I performed the Nielsen violin concerto in 2007, I have been overwhelmed from the very first note. Such an incredible connection with the whimsical Nordic nature that is displayed in this music, such as a natural use of the violin as both a lyrical and virtuoso instrument and such an originality."

George Antheil (1900-1959) had a double life. In the twenties, Antheil was trying to establish his reputation as the torchbearer of the avant-garde: he lived mostly in Europe, scandalizing the public with his iconoclastic music and furiously percussive piano playing. However, in a dramatic turn following a profound personal and artistic crisis, Antheil re-emerged, now in his early forties, as a neo-romantic, fully-integrated American composer, even, to some extent, a conservative. The four sonatas in this first volume of his violin music exemplify the two periods of his creativity. They document Antheil's musical evolution from the percussive First, to the Dadaist-cubist Second and the more neoclassical Third. A hiatus of 25 years separate these early scores from the so-called Second Violin Sonata (i.e. his Fourth Sonata), composed in 1947-48, which is clearly a more classically structured composition.

Also available on Blu-ray

For the first time ever, a Chinese symphony orchestra is performing at Lucerne Festival. If yet more evidence that classical music has long since become a global language were needed, it would be this appearance by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra under music director Long Yu. These musicians from Asia have planned a program of three Russian composers. Aaron Avshalomov, who was born in 1894, served as a professor at the Shanghai Conservatory, where he taught from 1919 on; he was one of the founders of China’s Western musical tradition. His tone poem Hutongs of Peking captures the sounds and voices that once echoed through the narrow alleys of the Chinese capital. Tchaikovsky’s immortal Violin Concerto will be performed by one of the leading virtuosos of our time, Maxim Vengerov. And the orchestra will demonstrate the degree to which a composer under Stalin had to wrestle with his own identity with Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony. Here the composer reacts to the political demand to be popular and monumental – which leads to an absurdly overstated “jubilant” conclusion.

Isabelle Faust is today considered to be one of the most fascinating artists of the younger generation in Europe. Her technical brilliance and the special sensitivity and maturity of her artistry have met with acclaim from audiences and reviewers alike. Isabelle Faust plays the "Sleeping Beauty" Stradivarius of 1704, loaned to her by the Landeskreditbank Baden-Württemberg. Christoph Poppen has made a name for himself in the world of international music as conductor, soloist and chamber musician, as well as being a respected teacher. For this artist, who was born in 1956 in Muenster, music is one of the most intense ways to experience life. He has won a great number of international violin competitions.

For the first time ever, a Chinese symphony orchestra is performing at Lucerne Festival. If yet more evidence that classical music has long since become a global language were needed, it would be this appearance by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra under music director Long Yu. These musicians from Asia have planned a program of three Russian composers. Aaron Avshalomov, who was born in 1894, served as a professor at the Shanghai Conservatory, where he taught from 1919 on; he was one of the founders of China's Western musical tradition. His tone poem Hutongs of Peking captures the sounds and voices that once echoed through the narrow alleys of the Chinese capital. Tchaikovsky's immortal Violin Concerto will be performed by one of the leading virtuosos of our time, Maxim Vengerov. And the orchestra will demonstrate the degree to which a composer under Stalin had to wrestle with his own identity with Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony. Here the composer reacts to the political demand to be popular and monumental - which leads to an absurdly overstated "jubilant" conclusion.

This release features Vol. 3 of Tartini's works for violin and harpsichord, adding another significant piece to Dynamic's releases by the baroque composer. The works are performed here by the duo Crtomir �i�kovic (violin) and Luca Ferrini (harpsichord), who were also featured also in Dynamic's Vol.1 and Vol. 2. Both musicians are highly praised specialists for this kind of repertoire. Born in Trieste, Crtomir �i�kovic studied at "Glasbena Matica" and graduated from the G. Tartini" Conservatory of Trieste. He enjoys performing in various chamber groups as well as performing as a soloist with prestigious orchestras. Luca Ferrini studied at the conservatories Tartini in Trieste, and Tomadini in Udine, obtaining full marks for both piano and harpsichord. He is a renowned concert pianist, performing all over Europe as a soloist and member of chamber ensembles.

This new first world recording explores Antonio Caldara and his sontatas and cantatas. Antonio Caldara is chiefly known as a composer of vocal music (operas, cantatas and oratorios), and is especially remembered for his operas, many of which are settings of librettos by Zeno and Metasasio. His stylistic development as a composer, however, has been described as a movement from works that are carefully crafted, with attention given to both musical and dramatic elements (his pre-1716 works) to music that becomes increasingly less detailed and texturally thinner (post-1716), reflecting Caldara's pressing schedule in Vienna. Today, manuscripts of Caldara's music are widely dispersed across Europe but his compositions which record so valuable a picture of the late Baroque in Italy and Austria are comparatively unknown to performers and little studied by scholars. The works are performed on this release by the ensemble I Solisti Ambrosiani.

In a new recording of music by Alessandro Scarlatti, Josetxu Obreg�n's La Ritirata parades it's dazzling vocal and instrumental talents in presenting the four cantatas which involve recorders and violins, together with an additional standalone soprano aria, for a further Glossa Neapolitan-flavored release. Drawn from his well over 800 secular cantatas these works combine fully-integrated, imaginative recitatives, expressive and dramatic arias and colorful and exacting instrumental sinfonias and ritornelli into elegant and compact wholes, and featuring poetic texts which typically followed the aspirations of the Accademia degli Arcadi literary circle initiated in Rome around the turn of the eighteenth century. The scene for Scarlatti's prolific creativity is set by Stefano Russomanno in his booklet essay. The vocal duties are assigned to three leading interpreters of today, mezzo Giuseppina Bridelli, countertenor Filippo Mineccia and soprano Alicia Amo. Rising here to the instrumental challenges set by Scarlatti are long-standing members of La Ritirata, Tamar Lalo (recorder) and Hiro Kurosaki (violin), who are joined on their respective instruments by Michael Form and Pablo Prieto. With cellist Obreg�n, Lalo and Kurosaki had been the leading soloists for La Ritirata's recent Neapolitan Concertos for various instruments release.

Wolfgang Rihm, one of the foremost contemporary composers, has created a powerful body of music for the violin. Gesungene Zeit is one of his most performed works, and it demonstrates why Rihm is so admired: music that begins and ends in ethereal lines while embracing agitation and threnody alike. The beautifully transparent and sensuous Lichtes Spiel is 'light, but not lightweight' in the composer's words, and COLL'ARCO takes the soloist to the extremes of virtuosity in his largest concertante work for the violin, teeming with reminiscences, intricacy, and drama. Volume 1 can also be heard on Naxos.

German violinist/composer Friedrich Seitz performed widely as a soloist and chamber musician, as well as working as a conductor and founding the first music school in Magdeburg. The Concertos for Violin and Piano or Schuler-Konzerte ('Student Concertos') are designed as introductions to violin technique, Seitz's genius being to create student works that are always tuneful and interesting, with flowing and expressively inventive melodies, wonderful slow movements and plenty of carefully curated technical fireworks. This second volume takes us up to Seitz's ambitious and beautiful final Schuler-Konzert No. 10. Hyejin Chung studied with Takako Nishizaki at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts and graduated with an Advanced Certificate in violin performance. She subsequently studied with Sergey Kravchenko, a student and assistant of Leonid Kogan, at the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatoire. She graduated with a Doctorate in Musical Arts in 2011. While in Russia, she won a number of competitions and performed with various orchestras. This is her second recording for Naxos.

This new release from Centaur features a programme of well known works for violin and piano from Brahms and Schumann performed by Alexander Meshibovsky and Raisa Kagramanova. Alexander Meshibovsky was born in Kharkov, USSR. After graduating from the Kharkov conservatory, he joined the Russian Concert Agency as a soloist, performing throughout the USSR. In 1975 he began his career in the West, making solo appearances with European and American orchestras, performing on radio and television, giving recitals and master classes in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Belgium, and Norway, and even returning for a triumphant tour of the USSR. In 1979, Mr. Meshibovsky immigrated to the United States, to work with Jascha Heifetz. In New York, he has appeared at Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Hall, New York University, The Bruno Walter Auditorium, and at Lehman College. His extensive repertoire includes nearly 50 violin concertos from baroque to contemporary, early and modern Russian works, and his own compositions, arrangements, and transcriptions.

The three previously unpublished and unrecorded chamber works in this programme were all written after Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s enforced move to the United States from his native Italy. Evoking the emotional day on which the composer sailed into New York for the first time, the Third Violin Concerto was composed for Jascha Heifetz specifically as a duo for violin and piano. Established as a highly regarded teacher and composer of film music, Castelnuovo-Tedesco rediscovered the joy of chamber music making as part of the Hollywood musical community. He considered the Sonata for Violin and Cello, Op. 148 his finest in this genre, while the String Trio, Op. 147 recalls the shores of the Mediterranean.

Encompassing his first collaboration to his last, this four- album collection celebrates Joseph Swensen’s tenure as Principal Conductor of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra (1996–2005). Swensen combines his role as conductor and soloist in acclaimed recordings of popular concertos by Mendelssohn, Brahms, Dvorák and Prokofiev. Written within a hundred years of each other these concertos not only provide Swensen with the opportunity to display his mastery of formidable technical demands, but also demonstrate each composer’s individual expressive and melodic expertise. Swensen’s dual role as both conductor and soloist creates a special collaboration with the musicians of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, who remain acutely attuned to his intentions. In addition they perform a wonderful selection of orchestral music together to complement the concertos: Brahms’ Hungarian Dances, Dvorák’s Nocturne for string orchestra and Czech Suite, Mendelssohn’s Fingal’s Cave and ‘Scottish’ Symphony, plus Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 1 and his Five Melodies (orchestrated by Swensen for solo violin and orchestra).

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Excerpts of reviews for some of the previously released titles included in this set:

Brahms: Violin Concerto & Hungarian Dances


This remarkable performance of the Brahms Violin Concerto stands among the finest available--indeed, it's just about perfect, and all the more remarkable coming from a soloist who also (at least nominally) conducts. As a conductor in the Hungarian Dances Swensen proves himself no less adept.

– ClassicsToday

Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No 2, Symphony No 1


The Classical Symphony is marvelous: exceptionally paced, exquisitely phrased by the violins in the slow movement, effervescent in the finale, texturally pellucid, with characterful wind playing. In a word, it's perfect. The Violin Concerto thrills me less as a piece, but not this performance, which in its shaping and poise reminds me of Milstein's, only with much better playing and sonics.

– ClassicsToday

Dvorak: Violin Concerto, Czech Suite, Etc

Both the Nocturne and the Waltz Op. 54 No. 1 come off splendidly, and as usual LINN's sonics are superb whether in stereo or multi-channel formats. In sum, there's a great deal here to enjoy, and I applaud Swensen's independence and well-thought-out approach.

– ClassicsToday

The violin works of the leading German composer Wolfgang Rihm encompass almost his entire career and reflect the variety of his stylistic thinking. ‘Lichtzwang,’ the earliest of his concertos, draws on chorale-like sequences and piercing outbursts alike in its memorializing of the writer Paul Celan. ‘Dritte Musik’ begins almost imperceptibly before growing in intensity and eventually slipping beyond audibility. Defter and more subtle than the preceding pieces, ‘Gedicht des Malers’ (Poem of the Painter) was inspired by an imagined painting of the great Belgian violinist Eugene Ysaye. As Rihm has written: “The soloist virtually embodies the painter’s brush as it moves over the canvas in sometimes faster and sometimes more deliberate ways.”

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REVIEW:

Lichtzwang is one of the great elegaic works for violin and orchestra, in the same class as Alban Berg’s Violin Concerto. Dritte Musik, his third violin concerto, also has its contemplative moments, but overall it has a wider range of emotions. His most recent violin concerto, from 2014, is his Gedicht des Malers (Poem of the Painter). The painter is Max Beckmann, an important figure in Rihm’s music. This is a wonderful album.

– Music for Several Instruments (Dean Frey)