Various Composers - Virtuoso Violin Encores [Vengerov/Golan]Here's a nice recital of violin encores, nice and varied, though maybe a tad too much Kreisler, it gets Vengerov to show off his Strad!.
The booklet cover is interesting, showing Vengerov in a coat and tails, looking like part of the proper establishment, and certainly that goes along with the music, he's a proper respected Classical Violinist, however he's also wearing a pair of jeans, and maybe this also gives a hint of his musical persona, as he is individual, and at times doesn't do things by the book, maybe he's trying to be Nigel Kennedy!.
The two pieces i liked the most are tracks 5 & 12, the Bloch piece is nice and dark, a nice sorrowful lament, well worth getting to know, but it's the last track, Bazzini's 'Dance Of The Goblins' that's truly a final encore piece to bring the house down, it's almost as if Bazzini composed it with exploring every device and ability that the violin has in mind, it's a great variety of fireworks, and i'm sure it's devilishly hard to learn and play.
Each section starts off with the piano making a short 'fanfare', Vengerov comes in with very fast and virtuosi playing [0:02-0:38], this part is very staccato, lots of notes, little cries and sighs here and there, towards the end there's a dramatic extra virtuoso edge to it, this opening section returns a little later [1:34-2:10], and right at the end it comes back again [3:50+], but it soon turns different, as it turns into the showy bravura finale, there's some wonderful pizzicato from Vengerov [4:45-4:50 & 4:56-5:01], notice the piano in the background playing notes in the highest treble of the keyboard, a lovely effect!, what a showstopper!.
Here's Maxim Vengerov playing the Bazzini on YouTube.
