39.00 PLN

CD:

Nr kat.: MM020
Label  : Medici Masters (GB)

Violinist Artur Grumiaux, supported by conductor Ferenc Fricsay and the Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra, gives an exhilarating rendition of Stravinsky's Violin Concerto. - Gavin Engelbrecht, The Northern Echo Ferenc Fricsay (1914-1963) was born in Budapest and began studying at five years old at the Franz Liszt Academy where he was taught by Bartók, Dohnanyi, Kodaly and Weiner. He was appointed to the Szeged Philharmonic Orchestra in 1934 and established an opera department there in 1939. In 1944, he was forced to flee and went into hiding in Budapest. In 1945, he was appointed to the Budapest Metropolitan Orchestra (now the Hungarian National Philharmonic) and to the Budapest Opera. In 1947, his international breakthrough came at the Salzburg Festival and led to a post as guest conductor with the Vienna State Opera. He then took over the Berlin City Opera (1948-52), the RIAS Symphony Orchestra (1948-54) which he made into an orchestra of international standing, Bavarian State Opera (1956-58) and Deutsche Oper Berlin (1961-63). He died after years of illness in 1963 aged 48. Arthur Grumiaux (1921-1986) came from a great line of Belgian violinists (Vieuxtemps, Ysaye, Dubois). It was Dubois who influenced Grumiaux's violin playing - strong yet graceful with a lovely tone and technique than never drew attention to itself. In 1939 he won the Prix Vieuxtemps. After the war, he established his reputation during the 1950s as one of the world's leading violinists and signed to Philips performing a famous set of the Beethoven Violin Sonatas with Clara Haskil. The Stravinsky Violin Concerto was recorded in the studio by Grumiaux with Ernest Bour for Philips but this 1951 live performance with Fricsay is rare and has not been pirated. Fricsay made quite a number of broadcasts with the KRSO. The live BartókDivertimento from 1953 followed his DG studio recording by one month while the live 1953 Stravinsky Sacre du Printemps preceded the studio recording by six months. Both works suit Fricsay's dramatic and brilliant style of conducting. John Hunt in his book 'Conductors on Record' said of the Stravinsky studio recording that "it was a performance making apparent the musical rather than the barbaric qualities of the work". He listed it as one of the best examples of Fricsay's work along with the Bartók. This double bill of live recordings featuring Fricsay and Grumiaux together from the WDR taken from the original master tapes is of stunning quality. These recordings are a major addition to his large DG discography.