Zino Francescatti plays Lalo & Vieuxtemps

Zino Francescatti plays Lalo & Vieuxtemps

Zino Francescatti (violin)

With Philadelphia Orchestra, cond. Eugene Ormandy (Vieuxtemps), William Smith (Saint-Saens, Sarasate); New York Philharmonic, cond. Dimitri Mitropoulos (Lalo)

This CD features four recordings by violinist Zino Francescatti. Noted for his immaculate technique and brilliant tone, Zino Francescatti was regarded as one of the premier violinists of the 20th century, he was a direct descendent of Niccolò Paganini. Francescatti emigrated to the U.S. during the WWII, and recorded for Columbia until his retirement in 1972. This CD features four recordings Francescatti made with orchestra in 1957. Including Lalo’s Symphonie espagnole. This colourful showpiece was one of the most popular works for violin and orchestra in the 1950s. Yet even among recordings by such giants as Heifetz, Milstein, and Menuhin, Francescatti’s spectacular performance stands out. This recorded performance was the first stereo LP of the Lalo Symphonie espagnole ever to be made. Also on this CD is Vieuxtemps Violin Concerto No.4 in D minor. The expansive orchestral passages prompted Hector Berlioz to describe Vieuxtemps’ Concerto as ‘a symphony with solo violin’. The two other works on this CD, Saint-Saëns’s Havanaise and Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen, are well suited to the sunny exuberance of Francescatti’s playing.

Works:

Vieuxtemps: Concerto No.04 in D Minor, Op.31
Lalo: Symphonie espagnole, Op.21
Saint-Saëns: Havanaise, Op. 83
Sarasate: Zigeunerweisen, Op. 20

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Biddulph Recordings
85001-2