Monday, October 31, 2005

What's listening: Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64

On the CD Player:
Felix Mendelssohn - Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64
Yehudi Menuhin on the violin, with the Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Efrem Kurtz.

I do not know why, neither can I describe why, that I would find this violin concerto easier to relate to compared to Beethoven's Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D, Op. 61 which I had just listened less than an hour ago.

The first movement opens so beautifully. The second movement is lovely that it moved my heart. I comparatively did not like the third movement as much. It sounds too buoyant at the moment for a melancholic heart. But surprisingly, my ears still delight to that lively exchanges that take place between the orchestra and the violin. Perhaps I could say, concertos are never a one-man show. The orchestra has an important role to play too.

Some extra readings if you would like to know about this concerto.
http://www.lasr.cs.ucla.edu/geoff/prognotes/mendelssohn/violinCon.html
http://www.chambersymphony.com/ProgramNotes/MendelssohnViolinConcerto.htm

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