Day 226
Ernst: Variations on ‘The Last Rose of Summer’
Hilary Hahn
I end this short series of solo violin works with a bit of fun. Heinrich Willhelm Ernst was perhaps the leading violin virtuoso of the post-Paganini generation and he left a number of pieces designed to show off his technique, including a solo violin version of Schubert’s Erlkönig, which has to be heard to be believed. These variations are a favourite encore peice for those few violinist who can master its challenges. There’s everything there including some extraordinary combination of left-hand pizzicato with bowed arpeggios. The pure musical worth is obviously quite minimal but the sheer sense of fun makes it a very attractive piece to listen to. I can’t begin to imagine how anybody could even start to learn to play it.
The next few days will be devoted to baroque concerti. I’ve not featured much baroque music in this project to date so time to make amends.
No comments:
Post a Comment