Various Composers - Violin Showpieces [Chung/Dutoit-Royal Philharmonic Orchestra]
Here's a really prized and rare disc, by the wonderful Kung-Wha Chung, a disc of four concertante works for the violin, some showy [Ravel / Tzigane], others more lyrical and moody [Chausson / Poeme], but a good selection, the only drawback being the short measure [45 minutes], another couple of works could easily have been added, but lack of quantity certainly doesn't mean lack of quality here.
Kyung-Wha Chung is South Korean, now 63 years old, she made this recording in 1977, i like so much the front cover shot [by Axel Forster], a black background makes the Chung stand out all the more vivd, very nice lighting from the right, and the lettering is great too, whit / yellow on black stands out too.
All of these pieces were such a joy to listen to, non more so than Chausson's Poeme, the longest piece on this disc, a gentle introduction, as if the music is swirling out of the mists of silence, when the soloist comes in, it's a whole minute solo [1:53-2:53], where Chung plays the main tune innocently at first, but towards the end with more passion, it's a superb tune, in essence at first this is a tag game, going back and forth between orchestra only, to violinist only, the second solo violin part [3:43-5:] is so much more virtuosic, and so much more passionate too, and ends with the orchestra coming in with a true duet, the violin has a great tendency to play around high in the treble, it's truly rhapsodic, about half way through the violin has some delicious double notes [7:44-8:13] played with real flair and brilliance, there's a gentle section where Chung plays with a sweet gentleness, very high a sugary [10:42+], and when the orchestra comes in with what sounds like a harp [11:58+] or maybe string pizzicato, it's a lovely effect,
Here's Olivier Charlier playing Poeme by Chausson on YouTube.
