A musical Advent Sunday

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dedicated to

Judith


 http://touch2touch.wordpress.com/


to

 Helen Tilston

http://helentilstonpainter.blogspot.com

and
for everyone who loves classical music:


Beethoven's Violin Concerto

Konzerthaus Berlin, Deutschland

Itzhak Perlman, Violin
Berliner Philharmoniker
Daniel Barenboim, Dirigent

Konzert für Violine und Orchester D-dur op. 61
concerto per viole ed orchestra in Re maggiore op. 61
concert for violin and orchestra D major op. 61
concert pour violon et orchestre Ré majeur op. 61
concierto para violín y orquesta en Re mayor op. 61

I. Allegro ma non troppo
II. Larghetto
III Rondó, Allegro


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Itzhak Perlman




Itzhak Perlman, born August 31, 1945
is an Israeli-born violinist, conductor, and instructor of master-classes.
He is regarded as one of the preeminent violinists of the 20th and early-21st centuries.


Perlman was born in Tel Aviv. His parents, Chaim and Shoshana Perlman, were natives of Poland 
 and had independently immigrated to Palestine in the mid-1930s before they met and got married. 
Perlman first became interested in the violin after hearing a classical music performance on the radio. 
At the age of three, he was denied entrance to the Shulamit Conservatory for being too small to hold a violin. 
He instead taught himself how to play the instrument using a toy fiddle until he was old enough to study with 
Rivka Goldgart at the Shulamit Conservatory and at the Academy of Music in Tel Aviv, 
where he gave his first recital at age 10, before moving to the United States 
to study at the Juilliard School with the violin pedagogue,Ivan Galamian, and his assistant Dorothy Delay.
Perlman contracted polio at the age of four. He made a good recovery, learning to walk with crutches.
 Today, he uses crutches or an electric Amigo scooter for mobility and plays the violin while seated.
read more    here
and
 http://www.itzhakperlman.com/

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Daniel Barenboim


Daniel Barenboim, KBE (born 15 November 1942) 
is an Israeli-Argentine-born pianist and conductor. 
He has served as music director of several major symphonic 
and operatic orchestras and made numerous recordings.

Currently, he is general music director of La Scala in Milan,
the Berlin State Opera, and the Staatskapelle Berlin; 
he previously served as Music Director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra 
and the Orchestre de Paris. 
Barenboim is also known for his work with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, 
a Seville-based orchestra of young Arab and Israeli musicians^.
Barenboim has received many awards and prizes, 
including an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, 
France's Légion d'honneur both as a Commander and Grand Officier, 
the German Großes Bundesverdienstkreuz and Willy Brandt Award, and, 
together with the Palestinian-American scholar Edward Said, 
Spain's Prince of Asturias Concord Award. 
He has won seven Grammy awards for his work and discography.

read more:    here
and
http://www.danielbarenboim.com/about.html


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Ludwig van Beethoven's Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61, was written in 1806.
The work was premiered on 23 December 1806 in the Theater an der Wien in Vienna. 
Beethoven wrote the concerto for his colleague Franz Clement, a leading violinist of the day, 
who had earlier given him helpful advice on his opera Fidelio.
The occasion was a benefit concert for Clement.
However, the first printed edition (1808) was dedicated to Beethoven’s friend Stephan von Breuning.
It is believed that Beethoven finished the solo part so late that Clement had to sight-read part of his performance.
 Perhaps to express his annoyance, or to show what he could do when he had time to prepare, 
Clement is said to have interrupted the concerto between the first and second movements 
with a solo composition of his own, played on one string of the violin held upside down; 
however, other sources claim that he did play such a piece but only at the end of the program.
The premiere was not a success, and the concerto was little performed in the following decades.

The work was revived in 1844, well after Beethoven's death, 
with performances by the then 12-year-old violinist Joseph Joachim 
with the orchestra conducted by Felix Mendelssohn.
Ever since, it has been one of the most important works of the violin concerto repertoire,
and it is frequently performed and recorded today.

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Wish you all a peaceful 2. Advent Sunday