Ernest Bloch, the composer, was born in Switzerland and died in the United States, with his professional life divided between Europe and America.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Many of Ernest Bloch's works, including this Violin Concerto, feature Jewish inflections of melody and rhythm, although he did not want to be characterized solely as a Jewish composer.
Compositional Technique
Bloch's Violin Concerto uses a 'reverse' dotted rhythm, also known as a 'Scotch snap,' frequent meter and tempo changes, and Near-Eastern modal scales.
Instruments
Elmar Oliveira performs on a violin known as the 'Stretton,' which was made in 1729-30 by Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu.
Compositional Technique
The Violin Concerto by Ernest Bloch employs cyclical form, where all movements are unified by the same main motif, appearing in various inversions or transpositions.
Performer Biography
John McLaughlin Williams, the conductor, won a Grammy Award in 2007 for his performance of Messiaen's L'Oiseaux Exotiqes.
Performer Biography
Elmar Oliveira, the violinist, is the first and only American violinist to win the Gold Medal at Moscow's Tchaikovsky International Competition.
