Opera-fantasies

Featuring

Haik Kazazyan
Andrey Shibko
Efrem Zimbalist
Pablo de Sarasate
Franz Waxman
Henryk Wieniawski

Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst
Igor Frolov

Did you know?

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Compositional Technique

Most opera composers did not create instrumental fantasies based on their own works; instead, composer-arrangers like Efrem Zimbalist and Pablo de Sarasate 'fantasized' the operas.

Album & Artwork

This album features 'Opera Fantasies,' a type of encore where violin soloists manipulate familiar opera themes and arias into elaborate structures.

Recording & Production

This recording was made possible in part by a grant from The Guzik Foundation and was recorded at the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory.

Performer Biography

Andrey Shibko, the pianist, won First Prize in the 19th D'Angelo International Artist Competition in Pennsylvania in 1995 and has performed with orchestras like the London Philharmonic.

Compositional Technique

All six fantasies on this album are full of instrumental pyrotechnics, complex and demanding perfection from the performers.

Performer Biography

Haik Kazazyan, the violinist, has won numerous international competitions, including the Wieniawski International Competition in 2001 and the Tchaikovsky International Competition in 2002.