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1939

6/21/2019, 10 Tracks, 1:31:39

Three violin concertos dating from the fateful year 1939 are performed by Fabiola Kim and the Munich Symphony Orchestra conducted by Kevin John Edusei. William Walton and Béla Bartók wrote their virtuosic concertos for Jascha Heifetz and Zoltán Székely, while Karl Amadeus Hartmann's Concerto funebre is an outwardly darker work. The three concertos reveal contrasting moods from Europe on the brink of war.

Featuring

  • Kevin John Edusei
  • Fabiola Kim
  • Münchner Symphoniker
  • Sir William Walton
  • Karl Amadeus Hartmann
  • Béla Bartók

Did you know?

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Composition History

William Walton's Violin Concerto was commissioned by the famous violinist Jascha Heifetz, who was delighted with the work after its premiere.

Source: Booklet

Composer Biography

Béla Bartók, a Hungarian composer, foresaw the coming war and expressed his distress over the political situation in Europe, considering emigration.

Source: Booklet

Composition History

Béla Bartók's Violin Concerto No. 2 was commissioned by violinist Zoltán Székely, who initially insisted on a 'classical' concerto, leading to an elegant compromise in the final work.

Source: Booklet

Performer Biography

Fabiola Kim, the violinist on this album, made her concerto debut with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of seven, three years after starting her studies.

Source: Booklet

Compositional Technique

Karl Amadeus Hartmann's 'Concerto funebre' incorporates motifs from the 1420 'Hussite Chorale' ('Die ihr Gottes Streiter seid'), a significant battle hymn, played with restraint by the solo violin.

Source: Booklet

Composer's Artistic Vision

Karl Amadeus Hartmann conceived his 'Concerto funebre' as funeral music, dedicating it to his son Richard and intending it to express confidence against the dire outlook for spiritual matters in 1939.

Source: Booklet

Historical Context

The album's title, "1939 Before the great global conflagration," refers to the year when all three concertos were composed, a time of increasing political tension in Europe leading up to World War II.

Source: Booklet

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