Etudes for String Orchestra, Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Maria Triptychon
New Century Chamber Orchestra, Stuart Canin, violin; Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, Sara Ganz, soprano A first-rate performance: * * * * --San Francisco Chronicle Martin composed the Etudes for String Orchestra in 1955-56. The work was commissioned by Paul Sacher for the Basel Chamber Orchestra, and premiered on November 23, 1956. This striking work consists of a sharply profiled slow overture, followed by four etudes, each of which treats an important aspect of string performance. Composed in 1950-51, Martin's Violin Concerto was first performed in the spring of 1952, when Joseph Szigeti played it with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande under Ernest Ansermet. The work assumes the traditoinal three-movement concerto form. The creation of Maria Triptychon evolved through the friendship Martin shared with the soprano Irmgard Seefried and her husband, the violinist Wolfgang Schneiderhan. The work is a setting of three canticles: the Ave Maria, the Magnificat in Martin Luther's German translation, and the Stabat Mater. Available here: iTunes |
New Albion Records, Inc.Archives
October 2010
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