Violin & Piano Classics

Many years ago, I compiled a collection of "A personal and subjective selection of great violin playing 1926-98". The collection comprised 46 short works for violin and piano ("salon or encore pieces"). Such works are now rarely found in concerts, and even broadcasts and recordings favour more "weighty" works for violin and piano. A shame, since there is much really memorable music in these short pieces.

It was so good to listen again to so many favourite recordings: Kreisler in Mendelssohn's "May Breeze" (1926). Dinicu playing his "Hora Staccato" (1928). Bustabo in Paganini's 5th capriccio (1935). Hassid in Sarasate's "Playera" (1940). Elman in Dvorak's "Slavonic Fantasy" (1947). Roby Lakatos in "Ochi Chornyje" (1998). Elman in Espéjo's "Airs Tziganes" (1948). Seidel and Korngold in Korngold's "Gartenszene" (1941). Eudice Shapiro in Ravel's "Kaddish" (1956). Ricci in "Recuerdos de l'Alhambra" (1978).Taschner in Sarasate's "Zigeunerweisen" (1944). Enescu in a Largo by Pugnani (1929). Seidel in Brahms' first Hungarian Dance (1938). Rabin in Scriabin's "Étude in Thirds" (1959). Menuhin in Rimsky-Korsakov's "Song of the Bride" (1930). And so on, for piece after piece. A veritable cornucopia of enjoyable music. Interesting, also, to note how individual most of the playing came over, with an almost immediate identification of the violinist concerned. Play the pieces above with even the best of modern violinists, one would need notes to identify who was playing what. In the old days, vibrato was individual. Tempi were individual. Rubato was individual. Bowing was individual. Violin teachers have ironed out all these idiosyncrasies so that all violinists now play beautifully and accurately in exactly the same manner.