Utwory na płycie:

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Violin Concerto in A Major, K. 219 - I. Allegro aperto – Adagio – Allegro aperto

Mozart:
Violin Concerto in A Major, K. 219

Henze:
Violin Concerto No. 1

Martin:
Magnificat

Anoutstanding violinist of the twentieth century: Wolfgang Schneiderhan, born inVienna in 1915, was concert master of the Vienna Philharmonic for many yearsbefore turning to his solo career entirely. As a chamber musician - for instance withhis Schneiderhan Quartet or in the trio with Edwin Fischer and Enrico Mainardi- he also proved to be influential. Schneiderhan was one of the definingartists in the history of the Lucerne Festival: between 1949 and 1986 he gavean amazing forty-two concerts; as Georg Kulenkampff's successor, he directedthe masterclasses over several decades; and in 1956, together with his formerstudent Rudolf Baumgartner, he founded the Lucerne Festival Strings.

AlthoughSchneiderhan possessed enormous technical prowess, he never entered theterritory of pure virtuoso concertos or sensational solo pieces. Instead, hisdexterity always underpinned a well-articulated tone, a cultivated breath ofmodulation and a highly differentiated dynamic palette; the natural and genuinenature of his playing was, justifiably, praised again and again. Schneiderhan's"house gods" were Bach, Mozart and Beethoven, but he was also a knowledgeableand committed champion of twentieth century composers, from Boris Blacher, KarlAmadeus Hartmann and Rolf Liebermann through to Frank Martin and IgorStravinsky.

Therange of Schneiderhan's repertoire is also displayed in these three Lucernelive recordings, now released for the first time. His commitment for the musicof his time becomes particularly evident: he performs Henze's highly virtuosicFirst Violin Concerto (which he would go on to record on disc as well, with thecomposer conducting) alongside Martin's Magnificat.The Swiss composer had composed this unusually scored work, which one yearlater would be expanded into his Maria-Triptychon,for Schneiderhan and his wife, the soprano Irmgard Seefried - the Lucerne liverecording of the world premiere with the two dedicatees therefore represents anexceptional archive discovery. The early recording of Mozart's final violinconcerto on the other hand shows Schneiderhan as a representative of theViennese Mozart tradition. Here, his partner at the podium of the SwissFestival Orchestra is Paul Hindemith who can be experienced as a conductor ofclassical repertoire.

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Live recordings: Lucerne, Kunsthaus, August 13, 1952, August 26, 1964, August 14, 1968