2me Polonaise brillante pour violon avec acompagnement de piano op.21 Henryk Wieniawski wrote only two polonaises. The first one, op. 4 in D minor, is one of his youthful works; the other, op. 21 in A major, is one of the last works he composed. Moreover, H. Wieniawski is the co-author of another polonaise, op. 8, for violin and piano, which he wrote with his brother Józef Wieniawski, a pianist. The latter polonaise, like the Polonaise in D minor op. 4, is also a youthful composition (1852). The polonaise as a genre, therefore, does not occupy much space in Wieniawskis heritage. Nonetheless, both polonaises, in D minor and A major, constitute an essential part of his artistic inheritance. Likewise, both polonaises had been composed in two versions: for violin and orchestra, and for violin and piano. The Polonaise in A major was completed in 1870. It is not known precisely which of the versions, the one with the piano, or the one with the orchestra first came into being. It was the version with orchestra that the composer performed for the first time on 17 March 1870, in the Grand Theatre in St. Petersburg. But merely two months later he performed the Polonaise in Warsaw, accompanied by his brother Józef at the piano. It is quite possible that Wieniawski had already performed this version of the Polonaise. It is certain, nonetheless, that both versions either appeared simultaneously, or one was composed shortly after the other. From its first public performance until the end of his concert career, Wieniawski often included this Polonaise in his concert repertoire, playing one version or another, the choice depending on the needs and circumstances. Just to mention one occasion, he played the orchestral version during a concert tour of Sweden in 1870, when he dedicated and presented a manuscript of this piece to King Charles XV of Sweden. The dedication, however, was changed in print, and both versions were eventually dedicated to François van Hal. Both versions were published simultaneously, by Schott Publishers in Mainz, with the same plate number, though the orchestral version appeared only in parts, which was a common practice in those days. The piece was most probably not published earlier than 18751. The Polonaise was praised by the critics. The reviews reported that it was a magnificent piece2, and this opinion was shared by later critical reviews, both Russian and West European. The Polonaise remained popular after the composer had died, which is evident from the number of later editions of the piece (more than ten) issued by different publishers, mostly German, and prepared by different editors. In Poland, the Polonaise was published twice after the Second World War. All the editions introduced some more or less significant changes into the text, mostly concerning performance indications, but in a sense blurring the composers intentions. All those changes were pertinent to the violin and piano version, and it was mostly in this form that the piece appeared in concert and teaching repertoires. The performances with an orchestra were much more seldom which was, among other factors, due to limited availability of the orchestral version, as it had never been published again after the first edition, until now. The Polonaise in A major was composed approximately at the same time as the Violin Concerto No. 2 in D minor3. This convergence in time had influenced a certain similarity with regard to both composition and technical means, and also to the themes. In particular, the similarity becomes quite obvious in the second theme of the Allegro in the Concerto, and in the theme of the Polonaise. The Polonaise in A major is also in a certain way similar to the first Polonaise (in D minor), the motifs of the themes in both polonaises are alike. However, both pieces differ in style. The Polonaise in D minor shows the composers fascination with technical writing. Wieniawski makes the most of double-stops, chords, and all other sophisticated virtuoso techniques. The Polonaise in A major, written 18 years later, is much more mature. Although it is a virtuosic piece as well, the techniques used are somewhat more limited and subordinated to the expression. The virtuoso character of this piece is more fragile, much closer to the brillant style. At the same time, the Polonaise is typical of Wieniawskis violin playing technique. Here the composer uses the means regarded by his contemporaries to be typical of him, e.g., long staccato fragments played with one bow. The Polonaise is a concert piece in one movement extended form with a considerably abbreviated return of the first section at the end. The middle section is contrasting in character, due to the modulation to F major, change of tempo (meno mosso) and the reduction in the number of instruments (in the orchestral version). All the sections show thematic similarity. The first section, too, consists of three subsections, including a contrasting middle subsection (in E major). Zofia Chechlińska Footnotes 1. See The Critical Commentary, p. ? and onward. 2. See V. Grigoriev, Henryk Wieniawski. Życie i twórczość. [Life and Work] Warszawa - Poznań 1986, p. 184. 3. The first version of the Concerto No. 2 in D minor was completed in 1862, but in 1870, i.e., not until the Polonaise in A major was completed, Wieniawski had been working on the Concerto and implemented quite a few changes. Publisher: PWM/Towarzystwo Muzyczne im. Henryka Wieniawskiego w Poznaniu Series: Henryk Wieniawski - Complete Works Cover: softback Nr ISMN: 979-0-2740-0753-9 Number of pages: 34+8 Format: N4 stoj. 235x305 Language version of text: pol., Eng.

For Violin and Piano-25 tangos by the revolutionary tango musician and composer Astor Piazzolla arranged for Violin and Piano. These crowd-pleasing tangos borrow from classical jazz and Latin traditions. The collection includes Piazzolla's most famous tangos Libertango and Oblivio.

Vivaldi achieved popularity throughout Europe with his collection “L’estro armonico” Op.3. He wrote the cycle which consists of twelve violin concertos (including Concerto Op.3 No.3 featured here) for the orchestra of the “Ospedale della Pietà” where he was teacher and director for many years.The two fast outer movements from opus 3/3 feature ritornelli combined with more virtuosic solo sections as was prevalent at the time. This ritornello form gives structure to the movements. It also gives the student who plays both the solo and tutti sections in this edition the opportunity to vary the returning motives interms of dynamics and ornamentation. In the short but expressive Largo distinct quarter notes alternate with patterns of sixteenth across all the strings. This allows the student to practise various bowing techniques.

Par ADOLPHE BRUCE. This work was commissioned by violinist Solomiya Ivakhiv to celebrate and commemorate the life of her namesake, Solomiya Krushelnytska. A Ukranian soprano, Krushelnyts (1872-1952) left home at the age of 21 to study voice in Italy, where she became a very successful opera performer and close friends with Puccini. She is often credited with saving Madama Butterfly from obscurity by taking on the role after a failed premiere with a different cast. Visiting her family one summer, she was suddently trapped as Ukraine was absorbed by the Soviet Union and all borders were closed. Realizing that she would never be able to return to Italy to resume her solo career, she joined the faculty of the Lviv Conservatory, where she raised a generation of very fine singers. She died in poverty, never being able to access her savings or property in Italy, but she contributed to the growth of the Lviv Conservatory where Solomiya Ivakhiv studied. Krushelnyts became a well-known symbol of hope for young women in Ukraine, where much of the population knows her name, and many streets are named after her. / Date parution : 2022-06-14/ Répertoire / Violon et Piano