Russian ViolinConcertos
Julia Fischer, violin
Russian National Orchestra
Conducted by
Yakov Kreizberg

PTC 5186 059

DSD recorded

 

 

 

 

Three Russian Violin Concertos

Many of you will probably wonder why I chose these violin concertos in particular for my first CD. To be perfectly honest, it was more a matter of coincidence, together with an idea of Yakov Kreizberg’s, that led to the compilation of this programme. We met in October 2003 in Philadelphia, where we were performing Khachaturian’s Violin Concerto; and as we enjoyed working together on the music so much, we immediately started looking for a chance to record this wonderful work. After it was settled that the Russian National Orchestra would work on this recording, I felt immediately inspired to add a further two Russian concertos to the programme.
The Khachaturian had always been a dream piece of mine – ever since I first heard the music, I wanted to play it. However, as soon as I proposed playing this concerto, I usually encountered strong opposition from conductors and concert promoters alike. Not until the 100th anniversary of the composer’s birth did I actually manage to perform this concert in public. I have never understood the aversion to this piece, as I consider it to be one of the most exciting works to have emerged from the 20th century. I first heard the concerto as an 11-year-old, when a girlfriend played it with a student orchestra during a class. The themes immediately resounded from every direction, they were played, sung and “danced” without interruption and the rhythmic motif, which can be heard throughout the entire first movement and is first played on the solo violin, thus becomes a kind of signal to all participants. At the time, I noticed straight away how impressive this work could be, and since then I have striven to establish it as part of the standard violin repertoire. From the point of view of the violinist, it is a highly rewarding work, and the ensemble-playing with the orchestra is original and delightful. Above all, though, the origins of the composer – his native Armenia – are clearly audible in this concerto.Serge Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1 contains all the typical characteristics of the composer – his Russian side, his sarcastic side, his ironic side and also his lyrical side. In this work, it is mainly the composer’s lyrical side which fascinates me, as well as his symphonic manner of writing. The violin is well and truly embedded in the orchestral sound.
Another violin concerto I have always wanted to play, yet never had the opportunity to do so, is Glazunov’s Violin Concerto. It is a true pleasure for a violinist to play this work – absolutely delightful and rewarding for the instrument, with really catchy themes as well as dialogues with all orchestral instruments. It would be difficult to come across more romantic or exciting examples in chamber music. What a joy to play this concerto with the Russian National Orchestra – one would be hard put to find an orchestra which has played this work more often or with more representative soloists.
Ever since I was small, I had always wanted to play in Moscow: my greatest example had always been David Oistrach. When I first entered the Tchaikovsky Conservatoire, I became aware of the atmosphere that has dominated this building for decades now – only the music counts, only the search for the hidden meaning of a work. Yakov Kreizberg is a musician for whom precisely this task of interpretation is what matters. That is what made working with him so unique and incomparable, and therefore I am delighted to have been able to record my first CD with him.
Julia Fischer 7/2004

Yakov Kreizberg
The Russian-born American conductor Yakov Kreizberg currently holds the posts of Chief Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Netherlands Philharmonic and Netherlands Chamber Orchestras, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. From 1995 to 2000 he was Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and he relinquished the post of Generalmusikdirector of the Komische Oper Berlin at the end of the 2000/01 season.
In demand across the globe, Yakov Kreizberg has conducted orchestras such as the Royal Concertgebouw, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Berlin Philharmonic, WDR Köln, NDR Hamburg, Staatskapelle Dresden and BBC Symphony, London Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra, Deutsches Sinfonie-Orchester Berlin, Bayerische Rundfunk, Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich, and he has been a frequent guest at the BBC Proms.
Within North America, Yakov Kreizberg regularly works with prestigious orchestras including Philadelphia Orchestra (with whom he toured the Americas in 2003), Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, the Minnesota Orchestra and he has also conducted the Los Angeles and New York Philharmonics and Chicago and Boston Symphony Orchestras.

Forthcoming plans include a tour of Spain, Germany and Switzerland with Vienna Symphony Orchestra, NHK Symphony and the Pacific Music Festival in Japan, London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris and Munich Philharmonic.
As well as having recorded for Decca and Oehms Classics, Yakov Kreizberg’s collaboration with Pentatone Classics and the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra has been extremely successful – their fourth release, Tour de France was issued in June 2005. Also with Pentatone Classics, Mr Kreizberg has recorded an award winning disc with Julia Fischer and the Russian National Orchestra, whilst his first recording with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Bruckner’s Symphony no. 7 was released in July 2005.

Mr Kreizberg established a fine reputation at the Komische Oper in a wide variety of repertoire. Elsewhere, he has conducted for Canadian Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, English National Opera and on a number of occasions with Glyndebourne Festival Opera. He has recently conducted Iolanthe with Netherlands Opera and will return in 2007/08 for Katya Kabanova. As part of the 2004 Bregenz FestivaI, he conducted Weill’s Der Protagonist and Royal Palace with Vienna Symphony Orchestra and in 2006 will conduct Macbeth at the Royal Opera House.
Born in St Petersburg, Yakov Kreizberg studied conducting privately with Ilya A. Musin, (the renowned Professor of Conducting from the St. Petersburg Conservatory) before emigrating to the United States in 1976. There he was awarded conducting fellowships at Tanglewood with Bernstein, Ozawa, Leinsdorf and at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute. In 1986 he won first prize in the Leopold Stokowski Conducting Competition in New York.

"For her first disc, the young German prodigy Julia Fischer chose a repertoire that suits her perfectly. In the Khachaturian concerto, she combines impetuosity and reflection as much as this romantic, exotic work allows. Her direction of the melody is always within the limits of the best taste... Very different and imaginative in the details [is] the First Concerto of Prokofiev... dazzling. The orchestra is very remarkable."
--Le Monde de la Musique

"A very generously filled CD with three appealing Russian violin concertos played by this month's 'One to watch', Julia Fischer. [The RNO] under Yakov Kreizberg accompany superbly and if, as the booklet implies, this CD was made in two days then the concentration level must have been immense!"
--James Jolly, The Gramophone 

"...the most soulful reading of the (usually neglected) Khachaturian on record. [In] the Prokofiev First Violin Concerto, Fischer and the engineers reveal the piece's inner workings... a model recording and indispensable."
The Absolute Sound (April 2005)

"Julia Fischer stands out. What's most impressive on this disc is [Julia Fischer's] revitalization of the Khatchaturian Violin Concerto... Fischer makes it sound fresh again. In part, the bloom results from her burnished tone (sensuous but firmly focused) and her confident technique (note the rhythmic definition of her opening gestures); simply as virtuoso display, this is a charismatic performance. But there's a lot more than surface appeal. Because of her unwavering concentration, she manages...to make each detail, each swing in mood, register clearly, and because of her unflagging sense of shape, she makes sure that each element contributes to a lucid unfolding of the overall structure.... a nobility unmatched by any other recording I know...urgently recommended."
Peter J. Rabonowitz, International Record Review

"Since January is a good time to celebrate new life, I'd like to give a warm if belated welcome to Julia Fischer's debut disc on PentaTone Classics of Russian violin concertos (5186 059). Barely 21, this German talent delivers Khachaturian, Glazunov and Prokofiev No 1 with a lyrical fervour and unwavering confidence that deserves to win her many new fans; she's already far beyond promising, well into full achievement. With this repertoire, no pale loitering by musicians is allowed; happily, Yakov Kreizberg and the Russian National Orchestra make ideal, full-blooded partners. If this CD doesn't banish winter chills, frankly, nothing will."
The Times (London)

“In any event, a model recording and indispensable.”
--Hary Pearson, Avguide.com

“All in all, this is a very impressive CD debut for Fischer. I look forward to listening to it repeatedly in the coming months, and to hearing still more from her, in the future.”
--Barry Brenesal, Fanfare

“..if, as the booklet implies, this CD was made in two days then the concentration level must have been immense!”
---James Jolly, Gramophone

“ A striking début sees a young violinist doing full justice to a work she loves… The freshness of her way with the Khachaturian is immediately striking in the chattering figuration of the opening, and she brings a rare tenderness to the lyrical second subject…The clarity of Fischer’s performance in the finale brings lightness and sparkle…A unique coupling, superbly recorded.”
---Edward Greenfield, Gramophone

“ Fischer offers scintillating readings of the Khachaturian, Prokofiev'sgreat Violin Concerto No. 1 and Glazunov's strangely meandering Violin Concerto. Besides being smart and accomplished, the violinist enjoys an astonishing ease of expression that recalls young Itzhak Perlman and Gil Shaham. In some ways, Fischer surpasses them with buoyant, lyrical
sensibility behind her technique.”
---David Patrick Stearns, Philadelphia Inquirer

“I don’t believe I have heard a better performance of the Khachaturian than Fischer’s, and with the hi-res surround sonics we have here a sure winner. The Prokofiev and Glazunov concertos prove excellent companions and also receive sparkling performances. As you can see by the time total, this disc is packed to the gills with great music.”
---John Sunier, Audiophile Audition

" The young and prodigiously gifted German violinist Julia Fischer makes her recording debut with this terrific disc of three Russian violin concertos... The Khachaturian, in which the world of Spartacus and the Sabre Dance never seems all that far away, is an irrepressibly exuberant piece, to which Fischer and the Russian National Orchestra under the dynamic baton of Yakov Kreizberg bring vibrant colour and buoyant rhythms. The Glazunov, inexplicably neglected these days, is one of his most winning works, innocent of the saccharine pallor that could sometimes afflict his music and here given with a flair that highlights its tender melodic lines and vitality. Neither concerto is shamed by being in the company of Prokofiev's more widely performed First Concerto, given in a performance that blends subtlety of colouring, haunting atmosphere and virtuoso flourish."
---Geoffrey Norris, The Telegraph

" ...these are crisp, bright, agile performances... Fischer has the solid and sympathetic backing of the Russian National Orchestra under Yakov Kreizberg. [The] ambience is natural and full of life."
---The Scotsman

“ THE debut disc of the German violinist, Julia Fischer, this is seriously impressive…Both of these (the Khachaturian and the Glazunov) should be played in the concert hall rather than always the old warhorses: perhaps Julia Fischer, a phenomenal player, will help them find their place”.
---Robert Beale, Manchester on line

" In the Khatchaturian Violin Concerto, the large but extremely graceful solo part does not owe its attraction alone to the virtuoso gesture, but also to the intensive dialogue between soloist and orchestra. And this dialogue unfolds excellently between Julia Fischer, Yakov Kreizberg and the exceptional Russian National Orchestra.... A remarkable debut CD. "
---Bayern 4 Klassik

" The premiere recording for this young German violinist (born in 1983) affirms a temperament of fire equipped with dazzling vitality. [Julia Fischer] fulfilled a dream by playing these works with her orchestra of choice: the Russian National... Ease, maturity and temperament spring forth from the first passages of the Khachaturian, with a vision clear, concise and enthralling, built with a logical projection that is never diverted. Prokofiev's first violin concerto is performed with lyricism and imagination.... Finally, [in the Glazunov] Julia Fischer affirms with ease its temperament and richness of color balances in perfect symbiosis with the orchestra led by Yakov Kreizberg. The festive and bucolic third movement concludes an ambitious and auspicious recording, leaving us to impatiently await the next one."
--- Noël Godts, Ramifications

“ It will be a shame if this disc doesn’t win an award or two, as the three distinctive Russian works Julia Fischer has chosen for her CD debut are immensely satisfying and thrillingly executed”.
--- Birmingham Post

“Fischer is utterly brilliant throughout: Technically accomplished, she’s deep where that’s called for, humorous where humor is needed. This disc is a winner.”
---Sarah Bryan Miller, St. Louis Post

Julia Fischer
Julia Fischer was born in Munich, Germany in 1983, and now ranks among the top violinists performing for audiences around the globe. Reviews include the following praise: “...not a talent, but a full-fledged phenomenal violinist...”, “...she takes your breath away...”, “...worthy of a hailstorm of superlatives...”, “...a winning blend of steely assurance and unabashed lyricism...”.
Julia Fischer has worked with such internationally acclaimed conductors as Lorin Maazel, Christoph Eschenbach, Yehudi Menuhin, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Bernhard Klee, Asher Fish, Marek Janowski, Jeffrey Tate, Simone Young, Herbert Blomstedt, Yakov Kreizberg, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Sir Neville Marriner, David Zinman, Michael Tilson Thomas, Mikhail Jurowski, as well as with a variety of top orchestras from Germany, Britain, the US, Poland, France, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Japan and Slovakia. She has performed in most European countries, the United States, Brasil and Japan. Her concerts have been broadcast on television and radio in every major European country, as well as on many US, Japanese and Australian radio stations.
In 2003, Julia Fischer – who has appeared in concert halls in the US since 1997 – performed with the New York Philharmonic under Lorin Maazel, playing the Sibelius Violin Concerto in New York’s Lincoln Center as well as the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in Vail, CO. Her 2003 Carnegie Hall début received standing ovations for her performance of Brahms’ Double Concerto with Lorin Maazel, Ha-Na Chang and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. In autumn 2003, she toured with Herbert Blomstedt and the Gewandhaus Orchestra throughout Germany, the UK and Austria. In January 2004, Julia Fischer embarked on her second tour with Sir Neville Marriner and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, this time through Germany.
Her chamber music partners include Christoph Eschenbach, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Daniel Müller-Schott, Tabea Zimmermann, Gustav Rivinius, Lars Vogt and Milana Chernyavska.
Julia Fischer began playing the violin before the age of four, receiving her first lesson from Helge Thelen; and a few months later, she started studying the piano with her mother Viera Fischer. Her formal violin education commenced at the Leopold Mozart Conservatory in Augsburg, under the tutelage of Lydia Dubrowskaya. At the age of nine, she was admitted to the Munich Academy of Music, where she continues to work with Ana Chumachenco.
Julia Fischer has won many competitions, the most prestigious of which include the International Yehudi Menuhin Violin Competition under Yehudi Menuhin’s supervision (where she won both the first prize and the special prize for best performance of a solo work by Bach in 1995); and the Eighth Eurovision Competition for Young Instrumentalists in 1996, which was broadcast in 22 countries from Lisbon. In 1997, Julia Fischer was awarded the “Prix d’Espoir” by the Foundation of European Industry.
In 2004, Julia Fischer signed an exclusive recording contract with PentaTone Classics.
Her active repertoire ranges from Bach to Penderecki, from Vivaldi to Shostakovitch, and includes over 40 works with orchestra as well as some 60 chamber-music works. Julia Fischer currently performs on a Jean Baptiste Guadagnini from 1750

Russian National Orchestra
The Russian National Orchestra has been in demand throughout the music world since its 1990 Moscow début. The first Russian orchestra to perform at the Vatican and in Israel, the RNO maintains an active schedule of touring and is a frequent guest at major festivals. Of the orchestra’s 1996 début at the BBC Proms in London, the Evening Standard wrote: “They played with such captivating beauty that the audience gave an involuntary sigh of pleasure.” By the time of the RNO’s 10th anniversary, the orchestra had been reviewed as a “major miracle” (Time Out New York) and classical music’s “story of the decade” (International Arts Manager). In 2004, the RNO was described as “a living symbol of the best in Russian art” (Miami Herald) and “as close to perfect as one could hope for” (Trinity Mirror).
Gramophone magazine listed the first RNO CD (1991) as the best recording of Tchaikovsky’s Pathétique in history, and reviewed it as follows: “An awe-inspiring experience; should human beings be able to play like this?”. Since then, the RNO has made more than 30 recordings for Deutsche Grammophon and PentaTone Classics, with conductors such as Mikhail Pletnev, Mstislav Rostropovich, Kent Nagano and Alexander Vedernikov.
In 2003, the orchestra signed a new multi-disc agreement with PentaTone Classics. One of the first results of this collaboration – a recording of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf and Beintus’ Wolf Tracks, conducted by Kent Nagano – won a 2004 Grammy Award, which made the RNO the first Russian orchestra ever to win the recording industry’s highest honour.
Unique among the principal Russian ensembles, the RNO is independent of the government and has developed its own path-breaking structure. It is perhaps the only orchestra to have established a Conductor Collegium, a group of internationally renowned conductors who share the podium leadership.
Another innovation is Cultural Allies, which was created in 2001. Cultural Allies encompasses exchanges between artists in Russia and the West, and also commissions new works. Prominent RNO partners in Cultural Allies include Dave and Chris Brubeck, Hélène Grimaud, Sophia Loren, Wynton Marsalis, John Corigliano and Michael Tilson Thomas.
The Russian National Orchestra is supported by private funding and is governed by a distinguished multinational board of trustees. Affiliated organizations include the Russian National Orchestra Trust (UK), the Russian Arts Foundation and the American Council of the RNO.