Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst: Complete Music for Violin and Piano, Volume Two
Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst (1812-65) was one of the leading musicians of his day, a friend of Berlioz, Chopin, Liszt and Mendelssohn, and for Joseph Joachim 'the greatest violinist I ever heard'. But the popular encore pieces by which Ernst is remembered today represent only a fraction of his output. This second CD — in a series of six presenting his complete violin works for the first time — combines brilliant display and expressive melody: the Otello Fantasy and Rossini Variations show Ernst developing Paganini's inheritance, and the Boléro, Two Romances and Pensées fugitives show why he was such a favourite in Parisian salons.
Sherban Lupu, violin
Ian Hobson, piano
Listen To This Recording:
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Fantaisie brillante sur la Marche et la Romance d’Otello de Rossini, Op 11 (1837–38)
- Introduzione: Andante non troppo
- March: Allegro moderato
- Variation I
- Variation II
- Romance: Andante
- Variation III: Moderato
- Tempo dell’ introduzione
- Finale: Più mosso
- Boléro, Op. 16 (1842): Allegretto
- No. 1 Allegretto molto cantabile
- No. 2 Agitato ma non allegro
- Introduzione: Andante
- Tèma: Lento
- Variation I: Ritenuto
- Variation II
- Variation III
- Cadenza
- Andante
- Finale
- No. 1, PassÈ: Poco agitato
- No. 2, Souvenir: Allegretto con molto calore
- No. 3, Romance: Allegretto con moto
- No. 4, Lied: Allegretto con moto
- No. 5, Agitato: Molto Vivace
- No. 6, Abschied: Con moto
- Introduzione: Andante
- Tèma
- Variation I
- Variation II
- Variation III
- Variation IV: Andante assai
- Variation V: Più mosso, con molto fuoco
Deux Romances, Op. 15 (c. 1841)
Souvenir du Pré aux Clercs: Grand Duo pour Piano et Violon (1834)
Pensées fugitives, par Heller et Ernst, Part I: Nos. 1–6 (c. 1839)
Variations brillantes sur un thème de Rossini, Op. 4 (c. 1829–30)
MusicWeb International :
‘I reviewed the first volume in this comprehensive, pioneering series with great pleasure and feel the same way about the second release. As before, the fully idiomatic and nerveless duo of Sherban Lupu and Ian Hobson take the honours — for expressive variety, technical excellence and ensemble assurance. […]
Top notch recording quality and an outstanding booklet note complete this exemplary offering.’
—Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb International
Fanfare Magazine :
‘[….] composer, and musical personality Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst continues in the footsteps of the first: exceptional notes by Mark Rowe, whose biography of the composer Ashgate, Aldershot published in 2008; and, most important, stunning performances of works both familiar and unfamiliar by violinist Sherban Lupu and pianist Ian Hobson […] the second should find its way into the collections of every lover of the violin and its literature as well as of those with even a passing interest in the years during which Ernst flourished. In fact, urgently recommended across the board.’
—Robert Maxham, Fanfare Magazine May 2012