Elmar Oliveira is the first and only American violinist to win the Gold Medal at Moscow's Tchaikovsky International Competition.
Composer Biography
Brahms was introduced to Hungarian and gypsy folk music by violinist Eduard Reményi, which influenced a whole category of Brahms's music.
Performer Biography
Gerard Schwarz, the conductor, has been the Music Director of the Seattle Symphony since 1985 and of New York's Mostly Mozart Festival from 1982.
Composition History
The Brahms Violin Concerto is dedicated to Joseph Joachim, a great violinist who consulted during its writing and contributed the cadenza.
Instruments
Elmar Oliveira performs exclusively on an instrument known as the 'Stretton,' made in 1729-30 by Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù, and on an exact copy of that violin.
Performer Biography
Elmar Oliveira, the violinist on this album, is one of the few major artists committed to expanding traditional repertoire boundaries and championing contemporary music.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Camille Saint-Saëns, a versatile musician with wide-ranging interests, sought clarity and beauty in his art while maintaining lucidity of reason.
