Karl Goldmark; Antonín Dvořák - Violin Concertos (Nathan Milstein)

Information

Composer: Karl Goldmark; Antonín Dvořák

• Dvořák - Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 53
• Goldmark - Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 28

Nathan Milstein, violin

New Philharmonia Orchestra

Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos & Harry Blech, conductors

Date: 1966; 1967

Label: EMI

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Karl Goldmark (18 May 1830 – 2 January 1915) was a Hungarian-born composer who built his career in Vienna. Initially a violinist and teacher, he was largely self-taught in composition. A supporter of Wagner, he became an influential figure in Vienna's musical scene. His most successful opera, Die Königin von Saba, reflects his familiarity with synagogue musical traditions. Goldmark also composed widely across other musical genres, including symphonies, violin concertos, and chamber music. His Rustic Wedding Symphony and later chamber works display a blend of traditional and contemporary musical influences.

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Antonín Dvořák (September 8, 1841 – May 1, 1904) was a Czech composer. He was the second Czech composer to achieve worldwide recognition, after Bedřich Smetana. Following Smetana's nationalist example, many of Dvořák's works show the influence of Czech folk music, such as his  two sets of Slavonic Dances, the Symphonic Variations, and the overwhelming majority of his songs. Dvořák wrote in a variety of forms: nine symphonies, ten operas, three concertos, several symphonic poems, serenades for string orchestra and wind ensemble, more than 40 works of chamber music, and piano music.

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Nathan Milstein (January 13, 1904 – December 21, 1992) was a Russian-American violinist renowned as one of the 20th century's greatest virtuosos, especially for his interpretations of Johann Sebastian Bach and Romantic repertoire. He studied under renowned teachers Leopold Auer and Eugène Ysaÿe, and performed across the Soviet Union and Europe until World War II. Milstein moved to the U.S. in 1928, debuting with the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1929. He later became a U.S. citizen, toured extensively in North America, made numerous recordings, and published a number of violin transcriptions.

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