Paganini, Kreisler & Others: Works for Violin & Piano

Featuring

Zino Francescatti
Max Lanner
Artur Balsam
Giuseppe Tartini
Niccolò Paganini
Henryk Wieniawski

Robert Schumann
Claude Debussy
Isaac Albéniz
Fritz Kreisler
Dmitri Shostakovich

Did you know?

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Instruments

Zino Francescatti owned the 'ex-César Thomson' Sanctus Seraphin violin for most of his career and later acquired the 'Hart' Stradivarius of 1727, which he used for 45 years.

Performer Biography

Zino Francescatti made his New York debut in 1939 with the New York Philharmonic, performing the Paganini D major Concerto, which was considered his 'calling card'.

Performer Biography

Zino Francescatti's distinctive 'flickering vibrato' was sometimes criticized in Classical works but was well-suited to the French repertoire.

Compositional Technique

Paganini's Caprices and Tartini's Variations on a theme of Corelli, featured on this album, were originally written for solo violin but are performed here with piano accompaniment.

Performer Biography

Zino Francescatti initially studied law at his parents' persuasion, only turning to music after his father's sudden death, realizing he could earn money by giving concerts.

Performer Biography

Zino Francescatti, a French violinist, was taught exclusively by his parents, with his father Fortunato Francescatti overseeing his artistic development and his mother Ernesta Féraud supervising daily practice.

Interpretation

This album includes pieces and arrangements by Fritz Kreisler, a Viennese violinist whom Zino Francescatti admired, but Francescatti brings his own French style rather than imitating Kreisler.