January 7, 2019.Poulenc and two string masters.One of the most interesting French composers of the 20th century, Francis Poulenc was born on this day in 1899.Poulenc’s also one of the more popular composers on our site (there are about 90 of his recording in our library) and we’ve written about him a number of times (here is an entry from a couple of years ago).To celebrate Poulenc’s 120th birthday, here is his longest (about 23 minutes) piano piece, a suite called Les soirées de Nazelles.Nazelles is a small town on the Loire river not far from Tours where Poulenc vacationed in the 1930s.The suite consists of a Préambule, eight variations, Cadence and Final.It’s performed by the French pianist Pascal Rogé.
Two masters of string instruments, both Jewish and both born in what used to be the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, were born this week: Nathan Milstein and Daniil Shafran.Milstein, one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century, was born in Odessa on January 13th of 1904.He studied with the best teachers: first, with Pyotr Stolyarsky in Odessa, then with Leopold Auer at the St.-Petersburg conservatory and later – with Eugène Ysaÿe in Belgium.In 1921 he met Vladimir Horovitz, three months his elder and already famous, and they became good friends.In 1925 they went on a concert tour of Western Europe and decided to stay abroad.Milstein performed in the US for the first time in 1929 and settled in the country thereafter.
As the musicologist Boris Schwartz writes, Milstein was probably the least Russian of the talented Russian violinists who emigrated to the West at that time (Jascha Heifetz, Efrem Zimbalist, and Mischa Elman among them) because “his violinistic instincts were so controlled by intellect” (one may think that Heifetz was at least as intellectual).Milstein’s technique was phenomenal, but he never showed it off.He played well into his 80s: his last recording was of a Stockholm concert in 1986, when Milstein was 83.He died in London on December 21st of 1992.Here’s the 1959 recording of Vivaldi Violin Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 2, RV 31.Nathan Milstein is accompanied by the pianist Leon Pommers.
The remarkable Soviet cellist Daniil Shafran was also born on January 13th but 19 years after Milstein, in 1923.By then the Russian Empire was no more, it was the Soviet Union in the making and St.Petersburg held the name Petrograd, soon to be renamed yet again into Leningrad – which was Shafran’s city of birth.His father was the principal cellist of the Leningrad Symphony Orchestra and Daniil’s first teacher.Later Shafran studied at the Leningrad conservatory.As different as the fates of our two musicians are, there is a musical link between Shafran and Milstein: at the conservatory, Shafran studied with Alexander Shtrimer, who studied quartet playing in the class of Leopold Auer, Milstein’s teacher.At the age of 14, Daniil won the All-Union Competition of Violinists and Cellists.In 1949 he shared with Mstislav Rostropovich the first prize in Budapest, at the World Youth Festival competition.One year later, it happened again: Shafran and Rostropovich shared the first prize, this time in Prague at the Hanuš Wihan international competition (Hanuš Wihan, b. 1855 d. 1920, was a Czech cellist, considered one of the greatest of his time).For many years after, Shafran and Rostropovich were considered the top Soviet cellists, even though Rastropovich had a much bigger and more famous international career (Shafran also played in the West: he made his US debut in 1960 and played in the UK in 1964).Shafran had a very broad repertory, from Bach, Beethoven and Brahms to Debussy and composers of the 20th century, especially Prokofiev and Shostakovich.Here is Bach’s Cello Suite no. 1 in G major, BWV 1007.It was recorded in 1970.
Poulenc and two string masters, 2019
January 7, 2019. Poulenc and two string masters. One of the most interesting French composers of the 20th century, Francis Poulenc was born on this day in 1899. Poulenc’s also one
of the more popular composers on our site (there are about 90 of his recording in our library) and we’ve written about him a number of times (here is an entry from a couple of years ago). To celebrate Poulenc’s 120th birthday, here is his longest (about 23 minutes) piano piece, a suite called Les soirées de Nazelles. Nazelles is a small town on the Loire river not far from Tours where Poulenc vacationed in the 1930s. The suite consists of a Préambule, eight variations, Cadence and Final. It’s performed by the French pianist Pascal Rogé.
Two masters of string instruments, both Jewish and both born in what used to be the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, were born this week: Nathan Milstein and Daniil Shafran. Milstein, one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century, was born in Odessa on January 13th of 1904. He studied with the best teachers: first, with Pyotr Stolyarsky in Odessa, then with Leopold Auer at the St.-Petersburg conservatory and later – with Eugène Ysaÿe in Belgium. In 1921 he met Vladimir Horovitz, three months his elder and already famous, and they became good friends. In 1925 they went on a concert tour of Western Europe and decided to stay abroad. Milstein performed in the US for the first time in 1929 and settled in the country thereafter.
As the musicologist Boris Schwartz writes, Milstein was probably the least Russian of the talented Russian violinists who emigrated to the West at that time (Jascha Heifetz, Efrem Zimbalist, and Mischa Elman among them) because “his violinistic instincts were so controlled by intellect” (one may think that Heifetz was at least as intellectual). Milstein’s technique was phenomenal, but he never showed it off. He played well into his 80s: his last recording was of a Stockholm concert in 1986, when Milstein was 83. He died in London on December 21st of 1992. Here’s the 1959 recording of Vivaldi Violin Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 2, RV 31. Nathan Milstein is accompanied by the pianist Leon Pommers.
The remarkable Soviet cellist Daniil Shafran was also born on January 13th but 19 years after Milstein, in 1923. By then the Russian Empire was no more, it was the Soviet Union in the making and St.Petersburg held the name Petrograd, soon to be renamed yet again into Leningrad – which was Shafran’s city of birth. His father was the principal cellist of the Leningrad Symphony Orchestra and Daniil’s first teacher. Later Shafran studied at the Leningrad conservatory. As different as the fates of our two musicians are, there is a musical link between Shafran and Milstein: at the conservatory, Shafran studied with Alexander Shtrimer, who studied quartet playing in the class of Leopold Auer, Milstein’s teacher. At the age of 14, Daniil won the All-Union Competition of Violinists and Cellists. In 1949 he shared with Mstislav Rostropovich the first prize in Budapest, at the World Youth Festival competition. One year later, it happened again: Shafran and Rostropovich shared the first prize, this time in Prague at the Hanuš Wihan international competition (Hanuš Wihan, b. 1855 d. 1920, was a Czech cellist, considered one of the greatest of his time). For many years after, Shafran and Rostropovich were considered the top Soviet cellists, even though Rastropovich had a much bigger and more famous international career (Shafran also played in the West: he made his US debut in 1960 and played in the UK in 1964). Shafran had a very broad repertory, from Bach, Beethoven and Brahms to Debussy and composers of the 20th century, especially Prokofiev and Shostakovich. Here is Bach’s Cello Suite no. 1 in G major, BWV 1007. It was recorded in 1970.