Bruch;Dvorak - Violin Concertos - Fischer, Zinman (DECCA 478 3544)

About the Album

Julia Fischer has chosen a rare and inspired coupling, the Bruch G minor and Dvořák A minor Violin Concertos. The “brilliant and musically insightful German violinist” (The New York Times) is joined by the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich and David Zinman.

Reviewing Julia Fischer’s performance of the Dvořák Concerto in London, The Guardian wrote, “Dvořák’s Violin Concerto, a romantic showpiece too often passed over in favour of Bruch and Mendelssohn, has a piquant slow movement to compete with either. Fischer made sure we heard every note, handing us each bar with absolute technical assurance and in a lustrous, seamless tone.”
Fischer points out that the two concertos have much in common: “Formally they are very similar. Both first movements start with quasi-improvised phrases, and both go into the second movement without a break. The slow movements are structurally very similar – each is of heightened importance within the concerto.” The concertos were composed approximately a decade apart and both composers sought input from the great Hungarian violinist Joseph Joachim.
Julia Fischer wished to record the concertos with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich and David Zinman, with whom she has a special relationship. “One of my first concerts was with the Tonhalle Zürich and I first played with David Zinman in 2003. He is a very natural musician and very intelligent but in the end he simply makes music. That is a gift.” Fischer was artist-in-residence with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich in 2009–2010. The distinctive sound of the orchestra, perfectly suited to the music of Bruch and Dvořák, is enhanced by the acoustic of their 1895 concert hall, where the concertos were recorded.

The violinist dazzles in these interpretations of two Romantic showpiece concertos. Whether she's bringing Dvorák's high notes to life with a shimmering vibrato, or caressing the tender melodies in the second movement, Fischer proves she's a worthy violinist to tackle his soaring Romantic concerto. The Tonhalle Orchestra of Zurich, too, make the most of Dvorák's masterful orchestral writing in partnership with the impressive solo tunes. Bruch's ever-popular Violin Concerto is a perfect partner to Dvorák's on this album, making the most of the full range and power of the instrument. The achingly beautiful tune in the second movement is a particular highlight, but the joy of the piece is the sheer variety available in the course of just a few minutes. It's a musical roller-coaster, showing off the many facets of the violin as both a sweet melody maker and a vehicle for virtuosity. Fans of Bruch's famous work will most certainly enjoy Fischer's dynamic recording, but even staunch violin-sceptics will find it difficult to dislike these two great Romantic concertos.

Record Review / Classic FM (London) / 04. March 2013 


Reviews

Fischer is such a fleet, silver-toned soloist, quick to gambol and quicker to charm . . . [Dvorák]: she inflects the finale with plenty of character. The opening theme is phrased with a lovely wink and a prance; you can almost see the silver glow . . . [Bruch]: From her opening solo line Fischer pulls us inside the piece, never letting us go. Through hesitations, piquant phrasings, improvisatory flourishes and limpid stretches of gorgeous hush she always keeps the music alive. 
Record Review / Geoff Brown, The Times (London) / 08. March 2013 

. . . a powerful performance of Dvorák's Violin Concerto, in which Julia Fischer is a soloist with a mix of strong projection and sensitivity to match . . . David Zinman takes full advantage of Dvorák's command and exploitation of orchestral texture and instrumental colour in establishing a rich framework for Fischer's soaring and beautifully inflected solo lines in the linked first and second movements, by turns brooding and animated. The spicy folk-like elements in the finale are brimful of character and exuberance here, with the orchestra and soloist taking cues from one another in maintaining the music's buoyancy, nimbleness and lyrical drama . . . [Bruch]: a performance that is as passionate as it is poignantly phrased . . . Fischer asserts all the freshness and intensity that are hallmarks of her stylish playing. There is vigour in the dramatic outbursts, glowing warmth in the reflective lyricism that comes into its own in the exquisitely restrained, melodically heartfelt slow movement. The finale's rhythmic drive and rapture cap a performance, and a disc, of striking presence and allure. 
Record Review / Geoffrey Norris, The Daily Telegraph (London) / 15. March 2013 

Beginning with one of the clearest quiet timpani rolls you are ever going to hear and some poetic woodwind-playing, Julia Fischer then enters to immediately put her sweet and fervent stamp on the solo part of Max Bruch's ubiquitous G minor Violin Concerto. Avoiding false sentiment and holding good the structure, Fischer gives a fiery and seductive account of this hugely popular and magnificent work. She is naturally (concert-hall) balanced with the orchestra, the cultured musicians of Zurich's Tonhalle under their chief David Zinman. They offer an interactive accompaniment that is pleasing in itself and which dovetails nicely with Fischer's playing. At the heart of the work, and this account of it, is the soulful Adagio, given an expansive, often tender reading . . . The finale takes off with passionate sweep and without the need for excessive speed. Less well known, but no less moving and invigorating, is Dvorák's Violin Concerto, a song and dance piece that hasn¿t quite found its way right to the centre of the repertoire. God knows why! It's a superb work full of delicious invention, many fine tunes, a soulful slow movement, and a rollicking finale, here perfectly paced to bring out its delicious lilt and all the things that make Dvorák his inimitable self. Fischer and Zinman do it proud, sizzling, loving, eloquent and exhilarating, with much authority, expressiveness and breathing space. It's a version that should win this "Cinderella" of a concerto many new friends. 
Record Review / Colin Anderson, Classicalsource.com / 29. March 2013

. . . the performances of both the Dvorák and the Bruch prove attractive and lovingly etched . . . [The Tonhalle woodwinds] enjoy their color contributions to the Dvorák's Finale: Allegro giocoso ma non troppo combines both ethnic furiant and dumka forms, the violin, winds, French horn and tympani urging several intricate meters and Slavonic tunes with graceful agility . . . [Bruch]: Zinman brings a decidedly energetic luster to the orchestral part, despite its truncated sonata-form Vorspiel, that evades the recapitulation so he can proceed directly to the heart of the matter, the lovely Adagio. Fischer and Zinman do inject a throaty rasping thrust into the gypsy-style rondo of the Finale: Allegro energico. 
Record Review / Gary Lemco, Audiophile Audition / 14. May 2013 

The pairing of Antonin Dvorák's Violin Concerto in A minor and Max Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor is appropriate because of the similarity of their formal designs, which were influenced by Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor, and because of their complementary moods. However, attentive listening will reveal important differences, such as the Bohemian rhythmic verve of the former, and the strong Brahmsian flavor of the latter. Julia Fischer finds the pieces are well-matched, and her engaging performances with David Zinman and the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra display her vibrant, charismatic playing with solid, committed orchestral accompaniment. While the Dvorák concerto has been an underdog for years, finding few champions among the great violinists, Fischer gives it as much passion and flair as she does to the Bruch, undoubtedly because it has been a favorite of hers since childhood. Bruch's concerto is an evergreen that needs no special pleading, and Fischer gives it a heartfelt performance that seems a little bigger in effect than the Dvorák, though both performances are up to this artist's high standards and sound fully realized. Decca's recording is evenly balanced between Fischer and the orchestra when they play together, though the loud tutti passages sometimes seem a bit explosive, so some care might be needed with the volume setting.
Blair Sanderson, All Music Guide

Biography

Born: June 15, 1983; Munich, Germany 

Julia Fischer is one of the leading violinists to have emerged at the turn of the twenty first century. Although she began gaining notice with competition prizes and concert appearances from 1995, she achieved international renown for her 2003 New York appearances with conductor Lorin Maazel at both Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall.

Fischer was born in 1983, in Munich, Germany. She began taking lessons on the violin at age 3 from Helge Thelen, and at 4 began simultaneous studies on the piano with her mother, Viera Fischer, a talented amateur pianist. Young Julia's first advanced studies on the violin came a few years later in Augsburg, at the Leopold Mozart Conservatory; at 9, she began taking instruction at the Munich Academy of Music. Among her most important teachers there has been violin virtuoso Ana Chumachenco.

In 1995 Fischer won first prize at the International Yehudi Menuhin Competition, where she also captured a special prize for best performance of a J.S. Bach solo work. The following year, in Lisbon, she won first prize at the Eurovision Competition for Young Instrumentalists, an event broadcast widely throughout Europe. Other important prizes followed as Fischer steadily developed her career as an orchestral soloist and recitalist.

She gave regular concerts with major symphony orchestras beginning in the late '90s in both Europe and the United States. 2003 was a pivotal year in her career: in the aforementioned concerts with Lorin Maazel, where she played the Sibelius Violin Concerto with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra at Avery Fisher Hall and the Brahms Double Concerto with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and cellist Han-Na Chang at Carnegie Hall, she convincingly established her credentials as one of the most talented violinists of her generation.

Thereafter she made concert tours with many of the world's finest orchestras, including the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields (under Neville Marriner), the Gewandhaus Orchestra (Herbert Blomstedt), and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Her first major recording was a 2001 DVD of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons, with Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. In 2004 she began recording exclusively for PentaTone Classics, her first disc featuring performances of the Prokofiev First Violin Concerto, as well as Khachaturian and Glazunov concertos. Subsequent recordings include a disc of solo works by J.S. Bach, Brahms' chamber music, Violin Concerto and Double Concerto, and the Mozart Violin Concertos.



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Total tracks number: 6 Total tracks length: 00:56:19 Total tracks size: 242,98 MB

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Track	Title	Length	Year	Composer	Conductor
01	Violin Concerto in A minor, Op.53 - 1.Allegro ma non troppo	11:11	2012	Dvorak, Antonin	Zinman, David
02	Violin Concerto in A minor, Op.53 - 2.Adagio ma non troppo	10:43	2012	Dvorak, Antonin	Zinman, David
03	Violin Concerto in A minor, Op.53 - 3.Finale: Allegro giocoso, ma non troppo	10:31	2012	Dvorak, Antonin	Zinman, David
04	Violin Concerto No.1 in G minor, Op.26 - 1.Prelude: Allegro moderato	07:53	2012	Bruch, Max	Zinman, David
05	Violin Concerto No.1 in G minor, Op.26 - 2.Adagio	08:43	2012	Bruch, Max	Zinman, David
06	Violin Concerto No.1 in G minor, Op.26 - 3.Finale. Allegro energico	07:15	2012	Bruch, Max	Zinman, David