Barber: Violin Concerto / Korngold: Violin Concerto; Much Ado About Nothing

Barber: Violin Concerto / Korngold: Violin Concerto; Much Ado About Nothing

Gil Shaham

Masterwork

Composed in the mid 20th Century, the violin concertos of Samuel Barber and Erich Korngold have successfully established themselves as essentials of the repertoire. Korngold’s concerto (1945) was dedicated to Alma Mahler and premiered by Jascha Heifitz in St. Louis in 1947. Having composed only film music during the Second World War, the violin concerto marked Korngold's return to concert pieces. The Barber Concerto, in contrast, was almost completed before the outbreak of war. Having completed the first and second movements in Switzerland in the summer of 1939, he returned to the USA in August and became embroiled in a protracted drama over the third movement with Samuel Simeon Fels and Iso Briselli, the commissioner and intended soloist of the work. This 1994 recording features Gil Shaham at his charming best, with André Previn and the LSO providing the perfect balance of Hollywood glitz and authoritative heft. read more

℗© 1994 Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Berlin

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