Dvorak Bruch Vieuxtemps

The violinists Joseph Joachim and Eugène Ysaÿe had a great influence on violin music of the nineteenth century, inspiring much of it's composition. Joachim often volunteered to collaborate with other composers, such as Brahms with his violin concerto. After looking over some chamber music he admired of Dvorák, Joachim suggested that he write a violin concerto. Joachim was so kind as to make over the solo part, wrote Dvorák. Dvorák intended to dedicate his concerto to Joachim, but Joachim had so many objections to the work's form (claiming he was trying to help Dvorák with his criticisms) that Dvorák finally gave it to a different violinist to premiere. During the year before it's composition, Dvorák became enraptured with the idea of incorporating more nationalism into his music. He completed Three Slavonic Rhapsodies, the Slavonic Dances, a sextet using a dumky (a Slavonic lament) and a furiant (Slavonic folkdance), a Capricio for violin and orchestra full of Slavonic dance elements (the orchestra parts have since been lost), a mazurek for violin and orchestra, a suite of Czech dances, and other works with obvious Slav or Czech characteristics. Dvorák felt that this gave him a greater currency outside his own country than composing in a more universal style. These nationalistic ideas are clearly apparent in his violin concerto, and the recognizable Dvorák of the New World Symphony and the American String Quartet is hardly discernible. The influence of Wagner is also palpable, in the long, never-ending melodies, hardly giving the soloist a break. Henri Vieuxtemps was born in Belgium where he began violin lessons with his father. In 1846 he was invited by the Tzar to St. Petersburg, where he founded a violin program at the St. Petersburg Conservatory; the Russian school of violin playing has dominated the world ever since. His most famous pupil was Eugène Ysaÿe, who, like his teacher, both performed and composed violin works. The Franck sonata, also recorded by Antonello, was written for him. Vieuxtemps's compositions were more in the restrained, classical tradition than the more showy style of Paganini. Ysaÿe quoted his teacher: Not runs for the sake of runs-sing, sing! The nickname, Le Grétry was attached to the concerto because the second movement's melody is derived from an aria in André Grétry's opera, Lucille. Vieuxtemps, even more than Joachim, liked to collaborate with others in his compositions, especially in chamber music and violin and piano works. Bruch's Scottish Fantasy is not a collaboration with a living composer, but each movement uses a different Scottish folksong, the last one, the well-known Scots, Wha Hae, by Robert Burns. Bruch, like many European composers, dating back to Beethoven and before, was strongly attracted to Scottish melodies. Scottish songs tend to have strong and often syncopated rhythms, because at one time the Scottish church banned instruments, while still allowing singing and dancing; singers thus were forced to provide the strong beats that dancing requires. Composers have been entranced by the punchy vitality of Scottish tunes ever since. Bruch had plenty of experience arranging Scottish song for singer and piano before he set to work on his Scottish Fantasy. It has a large part for the harp, and he originally titled it, Fantasy for Violin with Orchestra and Harp, Freely Using Scottish Folk Melodies, which, as a title, would have been a mouthful, though accurate. The work is full of sudden ritard