Prokofiev: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 & Sonata for Solo Violin Vadim Gluzman

• 1 I. Andantino 09:05
• 2 II. Scherzo: Vivacissimo 03:51
• 3 III. Moderato - Allegro moderato 07:34
• 4 I. Allegro moderato 10:25
• 5 II. Andante assai - Allegretto 10:02
• 6 III. Allegro, ben marcato 05:59
• 7 I. Moderato 05:00
• 8 II. Andante dolce: Theme and variations 03:13
• 9 III. Con brio - Allegro precipitato 03:31
• Total Runtime 58:40

Info for Prokofiev: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 & Sonata for Solo Violin

Nathan Milstein once described Sergei Prokofiev’s first violin concerto as: ‘indeed one of the best modern violin concertos… a brilliant piece, perhaps the finest of all Prokofiev’s works’, while the second concerto was taken up by violinists such as David Oistrakh and Jascha Heifetz.

Here the two works are interpreted by the Ukrainian-born Vadim Gluzman, who as many critics have remarked is firmly based in the glorious tradition of these and other virtuosos of the 19th and 20th centuries. His several discs for BIS have included concertos by Tchaikovsky and Bruch as well as by Gubaidulina and Barber, earning him accolades such as Diapason d’or de l’année, and numerous recommendations by magazines and websites including The Strad, BBC Music Magazine, Fono Forum and ClassicsToday.com.

On the present disc, Gluzman is supported by the eminent Estonian National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Neeme Järvi, with impressive credentials in Prokofiev’s music. Gluzman rounds off the programme with Prokofiev’s only solo work for the violin, the Sonata in D major, Op.115 – one of the composer’s less familiar compositions for the instrument. Strictly speaking it is a sonata for several violins: Prokofiev wrote the piece in 1947 to be played in unison by violin students. Despite its pedagogical purpose, the sonata is far more than just a technical exercise, however, presenting an overwhelming richness of ideas and emotions within a short time-frame.

Vadim Gluzman, violin
Estonian National Symphony Orchestra
Neeme Järvi, conductor

Vadim Gluzman
Vadim Gluzman’s extraordinary artistry brings back to life the glorious violinistic tradition of the 19th and 20th centuries. His wide repertoire embraces contemporary music and his performances are heard around the world through live broadcasts and a striking catalogue of award-winning recordings exclusively for the BIS label.

The Israeli violinist appears regularly with major orchestras such as the Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, London Symphony, Munich Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra and NHK Symphony; and with leading conductors including Neeme Järvi, Michael Tilson Thomas, Tugan Sokhiev, Andrew Litton, Marek Janowski, Semyon Bychkov, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Itzhak Perlman, Paavo Järvi, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Hannu Lintu and Peter Oundjian. His festival appearances include Verbier, Ravinia, Lockenhaus, Pablo Casals, Colmar, Jerusalem, and the North Shore Chamber Music Festival in Northbrook, Illinois, which was founded by Gluzman and pianist Angela Yoffe, his wife and long-standing recital partner.

Following highly acclaimed recent performances with Berlin Philharmonic and Cleveland Orchestra, the 2015-16 season will see Mr. Gluzman making first appearances with the Boston Symphony at the Tanglewood Festival under Christoph von Dohnányi and with the National Symphony in Washington under Andrew Litton. He also performs with the Gewandhaus Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Chailly, the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, L’Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Detroit, Oregon and Luzern Symphonies, as well as the Philharmonic Orchestras of Dresden, Stuttgart, St. Petersburg and Monte Carlo. Gluzman will also appear in recitals in London, Jerusalem, Lyon and Kronberg. He will lead performances with the Moscow Virtuosi, Sinfonietta Cracovia, and Vancouver Symphony, and will continue his collaboration with the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra in Columbus, Ohio, as Creative Partner and Principal Guest Artist.

Vadim Gluzman has given live and recorded premieres of works by composers such as Giya Kancheli, Peteris Vasks, Lera Auerbach and Sofia Gubaidulina. In 2016, he will give the World Premiere performances of a major work by Lera Auerbach for violin, orchestra and chorus with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, and culminating with BBC Symphony at the London Proms.

Mr. Gluzman’s latest CD features Sergey Prokofiev’s Sonatas No. 1 and 2 as well as three transcriptions from Romeo and Juliet. Accolades for his extensive discography under the exclusive contract with BIS Records include the Diapason d’Or of the Year, Gramophone’s Editor’s Choice, Classica Magazine’s esteemed Choc de Classica award, and Disc of the Month by The Strad, BBC Music Magazine, ClassicFM, and others.

Born in the former Soviet Union in 1973, Vadim Gluzman began violin studies at age 7. Before moving to Israel in 1990, where he was a student of Yair Kless, he studied with Roman Sne in Latvia and Zakhar Bron in Russia. In the US his teachers were Arkady Fomin and, at the Juilliard School, the late Dorothy DeLay and Masao Kawasaki. Early in his career, Mr. Gluzman enjoyed the encouragement and support of Isaac Stern, and in 1994 he received the prestigious Henryk Szeryng Foundation Career Award.

Vadim Gluzman plays the extraordinary 1690 ‘ex-Leopold Auer’ Stradivari, on extended loan to him through the generosity of the Stradivari Society of Chicago.

Booklet for Prokofiev: Violin Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 & Sonata for Solo Violin