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Beethoven: Violin Concerto / Romances Nos. 1 and 2

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Beethoven: Violin Concerto / Romances Nos. 1 and 2

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Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827) Violin Concerto in D Op. 61 (Cadenzas by Kreisler) Romances Opp. 40 & 50 Ludwig van Beethoven, named after his...

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Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827)

Violin Concerto in D Op. 61 (Cadenzas by Kreisler)

Romances Opp. 40 & 50

Ludwig van Beethoven, named after his illustrious grandfather, Kapellmeister to the Archbishop Elector of Cologne, was born in Bonn in 1770, the son of a singer employed by the Archbishop.

Beethoven's father was to prove inadequate paternally and professionally, although he saw to it that his son was trained, in one way and another, to assume his due position in the archiepiscopal Kapelle. It was with the encouragement of the Archbishop, a younger son of the Empress Maria Theresia, that the young musician made his way to Vienna in 1792, armed with introductions to the leading aristocratic amateurs of the day. He was to remain in Vienna for the rest of his life, at first establishing a reputation as a pianist and composer and later, after increasing deafness had barred him from performance and, to a large extent, from society, as a genius of known and tolerated eccentricity, a giant among composers.

Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D major, Opus 61, his only completed concerto for the instrument, was written in 1806 and at first dedicated to Franz Clement, the principal violinist and conductor at the Theater an der Wien, who gave the first performance of the work, adding a further item of variations played with the violin upside down, an unusual testimony to his technical proficiency. A later edition of the concerto carried a dedication to Beethoven's friend Stephan von Breuning.

The concerto was well enough received in Vienna, although some complained of the excessive length of the first movement, one critic writing of the endless repetition of unimportant passages, which he alleged produced a tiring effect. It was not until 1844 that the work became part of the standard repertoire, when it was performed by Brahms's friend Joachim in London, with the orchestra conducted by Mendelssohn. Since then it has become a favourite with audiences and players, its position unassailable.

Beethoven, with more than usual assistance from a copyist, transcribed the Violin Concerto for piano and orchestra, adding cadenzas, the whole undertaken in response to a commission from the pianist and composer Clementi in London. Although Beethoven's piano cadenzas have been transcribed for violin, it is usual for soloists to prefer cadenzas from other sources better suited to a string instrument.

The first movement of the concerto opens with five ominous drum-beats, in a long exposition, goes on to introduce the principal material of the movement, leading to a treacherously exposed opening octave arpeggio for the soloist. The movement, in all its beauty and variety, continues in broadly classical form.

The Larghetto allows the violinist an accompanying role, before he finally comes into his own with a fine, singing melody, later to be embellished, before the weighty chords that introduce the final Rondo. Here the soloist introduces the first and principal melody, playing on the lowest string of the violin. An episode of peasant simplicity follows, and the movement continues in the prescribed form, the first theme re-appearing between contrasting sections. As the concerto seems about to end in a whisper, the composer re-asserts himself with two forceful final chords.

The two Romances for violin and orchestra were earlier works. The F major Romance was written in 1798 and the G major work apparently in 1801-2, possibly as slow movements for a C major violin concerto that had been started some years earlier, but was never to be finished.

The Romances were published in 1803 and 1805, in Leipzig and Vienna, after being refused by the distinguished firm of Breitkopf & Haertel, to which they had been offered. They both have a perfection of their own and remain a significant part of the solo violin concert repertoire.

Takako Nishizaki

Takako Nishizaki is one of Japan's finest violinists. After studying with her father, Shinji Nishizaki, she became the first student of Shinichi Suzuki, the creator of the famous Suzuki Method of teaching children to play the violin. Subsequently she went to Japan's famous Toho School of Music and to Juilliard in the United States, where she studied with Joseph Fuchs.

Takako Nishizaki won Second Prize in the 1964 Leventritt International Competition (First Prize went to Itzhak Perlman), First Prize in the 1967 Juilliard Concerto Competition (with Japan's Nobuko Imai, the well-known viola-player), and several awards in lesser competitions.

She was only the second student at Juilliard, after Michael Rabin, to win her school's coveted Fritz Kreisler Scholarship, established by the great violinist himself.

Takako Nishizaki is one of the most frequently recorded violinists in the world today. She has recorded Grieg's Sonatas for Violin and Piano (RCA), Schubert's Duo Sonata and Franck's A Major Sonata (Balkanton, Eurodisc), an album of music for violin and guitar, ten volumes of her complete Fritz Kreisler Edition, many Chinese violin concertos, among them the Concerto by Du Ming-xin, dedicated to her, and a growing number of rare, previously unrecorded violin concertos. For Naxos she has recorded Vivaldi's Four Seasons, Mozart's Violin Concertos Nos. 3 and 5, Sonatas by Mozart and the Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky concertos.

The Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra

The Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra has benefited considerably from the work of its distinguished conductors. These included Vaclav Talich (1949 - 1952), Ludovit Rajter and Ladislav Slovak. The Czech conductor Libor Pesek was appointed resident conductor in 1981, and the present Principal Conductor is the Slovak musician Bystrik Rezucha. Zdenek Kosler has also had a long and distinguished association with the orchestra and has conducted many of its most successful recordings, among them the complete symphonies of Dvorak.

During the years of its professional existence the Slovak Philharmonic has worked under the direction of many of the most distinguished conductors from abroad, from Eugene Goossens and Malcolm Sargent to Claudio Abbado, Antal Dorati and Riccardo Muti.

The orchestra has undertaken many tours abroad, including visits to Germany and Japan, and has made a large number of recordings for the Czech Opus label, for Supraphon, for Hungaroton and, in recent years, for the Marco Polo and Naxos labels. These recordings have brought the orchestra a growing international reputation and praise from the critics of leading international publications.

Kenneth Jean

Associate Conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the Florida Symphony Orchestra, Kenneth Jean is a young conductor making his presence known both nationally and internationally. Born in New York City, he grew up in Hong Kong and returned to the United States in 1967 to live in San Francisco. After violin studies at San Franciso State University, he entered the Juiliard School at the age of 19 and was accepted into the conducting class of Jean Morel. The following year, he made his Carnegie Hall debut with the Youth Symphony Orchestra of New York and was immediately engaged as the orchestra's Music Director.

Kenneth Jean made his European debut in 1980 at the International Festival of Youth Orchestras in Aberdeen, Scotland and has since returned regularly. Other orchestras he has conducted include the St. Louis Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra of the Swiss Radio, Park Theatre Orchestra of Stockholm, the Belgrade Strings and the South West German Radio Orchestra of Baden-Baden at the Donaueschingen Festival of Contemporary Music. He was awarded the 1983-84 Leopold Stokowski Conducting Award by the American Symphony Orchestra. He has conducted that orchestra on various occasions, including a subscription concert in Carnegie Hall.

From 1979 until 1985 Kenneth Jean served as Resident Conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Previously, he was the Conducting Assistant of the Cleveland Orchestra for two seasons.

He has recorded works by Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Falla, Albeniz and Ravel for Naxos.

Disc 1

Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61

(more info)

Performed by: Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Asturias Symphony Orchestra British Symphony Orchestra Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra Hungarian State Orchestra London Philharmonic Orchestra NBC Symphony Orchestra Lucerne Festival Orchestra Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Berlin State Opera Orchestra Orchestre des Champs Elysees
Composed by: Ludwig van Beethoven Arturo Toscanini
Conducted by: Gyorgy Gyorivanyi-Rath Jose Serebrier John Barbirolli Kenneth Jean Bruno Walter Wilhelm Furtwangler Leo Blech Maximiano Valdes Witold Rowicki Philippe Herreweghe
Rachel Barton Pine, violin
Joseph Szigeti, violin
Jascha Heifetz, violin
Bronislaw Huberman, violin
George Szell,
Elmar Oliveira, violin
Yehudi Menuhin, violin
Takako Nishizaki, violin
Isaac Stern, violin
Miklos Szenthelyi, violin
Patricia Kopatchinskaja, violin
Fritz Kreisler, violin
Recording date: 11 March 1940

Romance No. 1 in G major, Op. 40

(more info)

Performed by: Bamberg Symphony Orchestra Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra Hungarian State Orchestra Orchestre des Champs Elysees
Composed by: Ludwig van Beethoven
Conducted by: Gyorgy Gyorivanyi-Rath Ferdinand Leitner Kenneth Jean Philippe Herreweghe
Rudolf Koeckert, violin
Takako Nishizaki, violin
Miklos Szenthelyi, violin
Patricia Kopatchinskaja, violin

Romance No. 1 in G major, Op. 40 - 8:40

Romance No. 2 in F major, Op. 50

(more info)

Performed by: Wroclaw Chamber Orchestra Leopoldinum Bamberg Symphony Orchestra Hanover Band Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra Hungarian State Orchestra Canadian National Arts Centre Orchestra Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra Orchestre des Champs Elysees
Composed by: Ludwig van Beethoven
Conducted by: Karol Teutsch Klaus-Peter Hahn Pinchas Zukerman Gyorgy Gyorivanyi-Rath Roy Goodman Ferdinand Leitner Kenneth Jean Philippe Herreweghe
Rudolf Koeckert, violin
Takako Nishizaki, violin
Miklos Szenthelyi, violin
Patricia Kopatchinskaja, violin
Graf Murzha, violin
Stephanie Chase, violin

Romance No. 2 in F major, Op. 50 - 9:50

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Flash 9 required. Click to download.

Composer(s):
Beethoven, Ludwig van

Conductor(s):
Jean, Kenneth

Orchestra(s):
Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra

Artist(s):
Nishizaki, Takako

Label: Naxos Classics
UPC: 730099514927
Item Number: 8550149
Release Date: Jun 15, 1989