Berg's Violin Concerto was completed in record time for the composer, on August 11, 1935, and was his last completed work before his death in December of the same year.
Compositional Technique
Béla Bartók's two Rhapsodies for violin and orchestra are in the slow-fast (lassú-friss) two-section form of the Hungarian verbunkos style, incorporating both urban and rural folk music elements.
Performer Biography
Isaac Stern, the violinist on this recording, was born in Poland and moved to San Francisco at 14 months old, receiving his first music lessons from his mother.
Performer Biography
Leonard Bernstein, the conductor on this recording, was among the first American-born and educated conductors to achieve worldwide acclaim.
Compositional Technique
Berg's Violin Concerto is based on a twelve-tone row that outlines a circle of fifths and incorporates a whole-tone motif from the Bach chorale 'Es ist genug!'.
Composition History
Alban Berg's Violin Concerto was composed as a memorial to Manon Gropius, the daughter of Gustav Mahler's widow, who died from poliomyelitis.
Instruments
Isaac Stern's favorite instrument was the Ysaÿe Guarnerius, a violin made by the Cremonese violin maker Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù.
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The Isaac Stern Collection: The Early Concerto Recordings, Vol. II
