Schubert, Saint-Saëns & Others: Works for Viola & Harp

Featuring

Peijun Xu
Godelieve Schrama
Sir Arnold Bax
Camille Saint-Saëns
Franz Schubert
Benjamin Britten

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Composer Biography

Arnold Bax, an English composer of Irish descent, was also a literary enthusiast who published novellas under the pseudonym Dermot O'Byrne.

Composition History

Camille Saint-Saëns, a prominent French composer, was a pioneer in film music, composing for the short film 'L'assassinat du Duc de Guise' in 1908.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Arnold Bax, who described himself as a 'dyed-in-the-wool Romantic,' combined elements of Irish folklore with a late Romantic sound ideal in his diverse musical works.

Instruments

The arpeggione, for which Franz Schubert composed a sonata, was a unique stringed instrument invented in 1823 by Georg Stauffer, resembling a cello with a guitar-shaped body and six guitar-tuned strings.

Compositional Technique

Saint-Saëns enjoyed experimenting with unusual instrument combinations, as seen in his Fantasy opus 124 for Violin and Harp, which is performed here with a viola.

Compositional Technique

Benjamin Britten's 'Lachrymae. Reflections on a Song of Dowland' is a set of variations that reverses the traditional form, with the original Dowland song appearing as the theme only at the very end.

Performer Biography

Peijun Xu, a leading violist, has premiered several new viola concertos, including 'Peregrina' by Ralf Gothóni and 'Water Melodies' by Thorsten Encke.