Monday 6 January 2020

Rachmaninov's Danse Hongroise Op 6 No.2

As someone who enjoys violin playing, I have built up over the decades a considerable collection of recordings of short salon pieces. 39 different recordings of Tchaikovsky's Mélodie. 42 recordings of Kreisler's Liebesfreud: 16 recordings of Elgar's Salut d'Amour. Even 24 recordings of William Kroll's meretricious Banjo & Fiddle, a piece I heartily dislike. But in all my collection, I only have four – FOUR – recordings of Sergei Rachmaninov's Danse Hongroise (Op 6 No.2 of his Morceaux de Salon.) How on earth is this piece almost always overlooked in collections of short violin pieces? It is attractive music, lasting just under four minutes. The only four violinists in my collection to have recorded it are Akiko Suwanai, David Frühwirth, Sacha Sitkovetsky, and Ruggiero Ricci. Really odd how some pieces of music are so often overlooked. If I were several decades younger, I'd go out and buy the music and play it myself.

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