Until our series begins on August 30th at the Amador Club, join us for a sneak peak of the program each week.
Henri Wieniawski ⎹ Etude-Caprices for two violins
Henri Wieniawski was born in Lublin (modern day Poland) in 1835. Born just 20 years after Chopin and Liszt, there is no doubt he was able to follow their path in the music world: Wieniawski entered the Paris Conservatory at the age of 8 as a child prodigy and grew up to become amongst the most famous concertizing violinists and pedagogues-- by the time he was 13, he was appointed the official violin soloist of the tsar of Russia.
As a composer and teacher, he was known for weaving together complex violin techniques with traditional Polish dances including several mazurkas and polonaises.
As an introduction to Wieniawski's virtuosic and dazzling style, listen to a recording of his Polonaise de Concert Op. 4 for solo violin and orchestra.
"Bomsori'’s chosen repertoire reflects her desire to communicate with her audiences through her instrument’s expressive voice. “I’m not a loud person – I usually don’t talk much in everyday life,” she says. “But that’s why I love playing the violin, because I can speak and communicate through music. I’ve loved singing and ballet since I was a small child and am always moved by hearing voices and watching dancers. I wanted to bring that special spirit of poetry and drama to listeners through my instrument, which can sing freely in these wonderful pieces.” Enjoy her performance of Wienawski's Polonaise de concert, Op. 4 accompanied by NFM Wrocław Philharmonic condcuted by Giancarlo Guerrero."
Our selection of duos is very unique to Wieniawski's œuvre. The etude caprices feature one player performing Wieniawski's typical technical feats while the other accompanies them with a beautiful melodic line. Because of Wieniawski's extensive history as a violin pedagogue, it is surmised that he assigned the virtuosic parts of these caprices to his students while he played the second violin part so that he could observe his students while producing a beautiful piece of music.
These duos are not performed very regularly at traditional chamber concerts, so we are delighted to be able to share them with you starting next week!
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