Henri Vieuxtemps, the composer, began his career as a child prodigy, receiving his first violin lessons from his amateur violinist father.
Instruments
Massimo Quarta performs on an Antonio Stradivari violin from 1702, known as the 'Conte De Fontana - ex David Oistrakh', on loan from the Pro Canale Foundation of Milan.
Composer's Artistic Vision
As a composer, Vieuxtemps sought to bridge the brilliant Italian-French concertante style (from Viotti to Paganini) with the German sonata style of romantic aesthetics.
Compositional Technique
Vieuxtemps' Fourth Concerto in D minor, Op. 31, is structured in four movements, including a Scherzo, predating Brahms' Second Piano Concerto by thirty years.
Composer Biography
At just seven years old, Vieuxtemps was noticed by Charles-Auguste de Bériot, founder of the Belgian violin school, who took him as a pupil.
Performer Biography
Massimo Quarta, the violinist and conductor on this album, won the prestigious International Violin Competition 'N. Paganini' in Genoa in 1991, the first Italian to do so since 1958.
Composer Biography
Vieuxtemps heard Paganini in London in 1834 and later dedicated his virtuosic Hommage à Paganini for violin and piano, Op. 9, to him.
