Pablo de Sarasate - Music for Violin & Orchestra Vol. 2 (Tianwa Yang; Ernest Martinez Izquierdo)

Information

Composer: Pablo de Sarasate

1. Fantaisie sur "Carmen" de Georges Bizet, Op. 25: I. Introduction. Allegro moderato
2. Fantaisie sur "Carmen" de Georges Bizet, Op. 25: II. Moderato
3. Fantaisie sur "Carmen" de Georges Bizet, Op. 25: III. Lento assai
4. Fantaisie sur "Carmen" de Georges Bizet, Op. 25: IV. Allegro moderato
5. Fantaisie sur "Carmen" de Georges Bizet, Op. 25: V. Moderato - Animato
6. Caprice sur "Romeo et Juliette" de Charles Gounod, Op. 5
7. Canciones rusas, Op. 49
8. El canto del ruiseñor, Op. 29
9. La chasse, Op. 44
10. Jota de Pablo, Op. 52

Tianwa Yang, violin

Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra

Ernest Martínez Izquierdo, conductor

Date: 2010

Label: Naxos

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Review

You’re going to love this one. Now I have to confess, I’m not normally a fan of the virtuoso violin school–heck, of any violin school. Sarasate has a big advantage, though: he’s working with great tunes. Who doesn’t love Carmen? Or the bel canto sexiness of Romeo and Juliet? Canciones rusas contains the theme that became famous as the “Wet Nurses’ Dance” in Stravinsky’s Petrushka (Balakirev also used it). La chasse is remarkably atmospheric and poetic, the Jota de Pablo a celebration of the composer’s Spanish heritage. Okay, El canto del ruiseñor (The Song of the Nightingale) is one of those chirpy bird things that makes you want to throw the little critter down some oxygen-depleted Chilean mine shaft, but there are worse ways to go than death by chronic cuteness.

Tianwa Yang is a sensationally talented young violinist. She has technique to burn. Her harmonics (and there are a lot of them) dazzle with their precision and lack of “hissiness”; her left-hand pizzicatos, special bowing effects, runs, and arpeggios fit naturally within a phrase rather than sticking out like the gaudy banners on a parade float. Best of all, she has a beautiful tone in cantabile phrases (check out the Romeo and Juliet fantasy) and a really seductive way with rubato that conveys emotion without distorting the rhythm. Splendidly accompanied by Ernest Izquierdo and his Navarra players, this is a youthful, vibrant collection that just may change your mind about the virtuoso violin repertoire.

— David Hurwitz

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Pablo de Sarasate (10 March 1844 – 20 September 1908) was a Spanish violin virtuoso and composer whose exceptional technique and pure, sweet tone earned him international acclaim. Beginning violin at five, he debuted publicly at eight and later trained at the Paris Conservatory. From 1859 onward, extensive concert tours established his global reputation. His artistry inspired leading composers such as Saint-Saëns, Bruch, Lalo and Dvořák to write works for him. Sarasate also composed virtuoso pieces for violin, the most celebrated being Zigeunerweisen (1878), a gypsy-style fantasy that remains a staple of the repertoire.

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Tianwa Yang (杨天娲, born 8 April 1987) is a Chinese classical violinist. She studied with Lin Yaoji at the Central Conservatory of Music. Yang debuted in Europe in 2001, performing with the Czech Broadcasting Symphony Orchestra in Prague. Her North American debut was in the 2007-2008 season when she performed at the Virginia Arts Festival with the Virginia Symphony. Yang recorded her first CD in 2000, at the age of 13, with a recording of Paganini's 24 Caprices, on the Hugo Classical label. In 2004, she began recording for Naxos, starting with a series of the complete works of Pablo de Sarasate.

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