Bloch: Violin Concerto / Baal Shem / Suite Hebraique
4/30/2008, 9 Tracks, 1:06:00
Featuring
José Serebrier
Zina Schiff
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Ernest Bloch
Did you know?
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Compositional Technique
Bloch's Violin Concerto incorporates motifs that evoke cantorial chants and fragments from his Sacred Service, despite the composer attributing major themes to American Indian songs.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Ernest Bloch aimed to portray the 'complex, glowing, agitated soul' of the Bible in his music, including the Violin Concerto and Suites.
Composition History
Ernest Bloch dedicated his Violin Concerto to his lifelong friend Joseph Szigeti, a Hungarian violin sensation who had inspired him decades earlier.
Performer Biography
Zina Schiff, the violinist on this recording, is a protégée of the legendary Jascha Heifetz and has performed as a soloist with many major orchestras.
Composer Biography
Ernest Bloch, the composer, initially studied violin with the illustrious Belgian violinist Eugène Ysaÿe, who persuaded him to pursue composition instead.
Composer Biography
Before finding success in music, Ernest Bloch worked as a book-keeper and clerk in his family's clock shop in Switzerland.
Performer Biography
José Serebrier, the conductor, was hailed by Leopold Stokowski as 'the greatest master of orchestral balance' at age 21 and has received 32 Grammy nominations.
