Pablo de Sarasate - Music for Violin & Piano Vol. 2 (Tianwa Yang; Markus Hadulla)

Information

Composer: Pablo de Sarasate

1. Hommage à Rossini, Op. 2
2. Souvenir de Domont, Op. 8
3. Fantaisie de concert sur "Martha" de Friedrich von Flotow, Op. 19
4. Gavota sur "Mignon" de Ambroise Thomas, Op. 16
5. Mèlodie roumaine, Op. 47
6. Mosaíque sur "Zampa" de Ferdinand Hérold, Op. 15
7. Moscoviènne, Op. 12
8. Fantaisie de concert sur "La forza del destino" de Giuseppe Verdi, Op. 1

Tianwa Yang, violin
Markus Hadulla, piano

Date: 2007
Label: Naxos
http://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.570192

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Review

This is the second volume of Sarasate pieces that Tianwa Yang and Markus Hadulla have recorded for Naxos (Nov/Dec 2006), and it includes operatic fantasies that I never new existed, beginning with a fantasy on a theme from Flotow's Martha that includes variations on Sir John Stevenson's melody for 'The last Rose of Summer'. The Rossini homage is filled with themes that have slipped out of immediate recognition from Otello and Moise, but the piece ends with a rousing chorus of the very familiar 'Largo al Factotum' from the Barber of Seville. Everything here is a special and highly virtuosic treat, especially the violinist.

Carl Flesch decribed Pablo de Sarasate's music like a fresh, rosy-cheeked peasant girl. Well, here she is. She is 20 now, and demonstrated that she was an accomplished virtuoso at 14 by recording all the Paganini caprices (they can all be seen and heard on YouTube). She plays more like a refined ballet dancer than a peasant girl, but there is a clarity and purity to her playing that gives the impression that she has never had a care or worry in the world: it is beautiful and effortless, while still emotionally uplifting and musically interesting. There is a kind of natural order to her playing as well as a natural intelligence. Listening to her play has a kind of cleansing effect on my mind; it makes the world seem dazzlingly beautiful, yet, at the same time at peace and in balance.

I suppose Yang's playing can only be described as perfect, and "perfect" is a word I normally hate to use, because I normally think of perfection to be a myth. George Bernard Shaw, it has been said, advised the young Jascha Heifetz that his perfection might cause the gods to seek retribution, and that he should intentionally play one single bad note daily to protect himself. Maybe Yang should be prudent and do the same.

-- Elaine Fine, American Record Guide, April 2008

More reviews:
http://www.naxos.com/reviews/reviewslist.asp?catalogueid=8.570192&languageid=EN
http://www.amazon.com/Concert-Fantasies-Forza-Destino-Zampa/dp/B000WPJ6C6

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Pablo de Sarasate (10 March 1844 – 20 September 1908) was a Spanish violinist and composer of the Romantic period. Sarasate, who had been publicly performing since childhood, made his Paris debut as a concert violinist in 1860, and played in London the following year. Over the course of his career, he toured many parts of the world, performing in Europe, North America, and South America. Sarasate's own compositions are mainly show-pieces designed to demonstrate his exemplary technique. Perhaps the best known of his works is Zigeunerweisen (1878). A number of works for violin were also dedicated to Sarasate.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablo_de_Sarasate

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Tianwa Yang (born 8 April, 1987) is a Chinese classical violinist. Yang began learning to play the violin at age four and at ten, began studying with Professor Lin Yaoji at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. She debuted in Europe in 2001 and her North American debut was in the 2007-2008 season. Yang recorded her first CD in 2000, at the age of 13, with a recording of Paganini's 24 caprices, on the Hugo Classical label. In 2004, she began recording for Naxos, beginning a series of the complete works of Pablo de Sarasate, which will eventually cover 8 CDs. Yang performs on a Guarneri del Gesu (1730).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tianwa_Yang
http://www.tianwayang.com/en/

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