Franz von Vecsey - Prelude and Fugue for violin solo (audio + sheet music)

Описание: The Hungarian violinist Franz von Vecsey (1893 – 1935) was an incredibly precocious talent: at the age of eight he was taken on as a student of Jenő Hubay and so impressed Joachim two years later that the latter conducted for the young soloist’s performance of the Beethoven Violin Concerto in 1904. Shortly afterwards, Jean Sibelius rededicated his Violin Concerto to the young violinist after its original dedicatee, Willy Burmeister, had withdrawn prior to the work’s premiere. Vecsey’s career was interrupted by the onset of the Great War in 1914 and when he resumed his concert career in the 1920s, he was now a mature artist. Yet despite the brilliance of his technical mastery, his playing was hallmarked by a certain emotional detachment and lack of individuality. Indeed Carl Flesch noted that ‘. . . his playing. . . was undistinguished musically. . . his musical education was left to chance – to the vagaries of concert life. The outcome was an impoverishment of his personality which prevented his full artistic development'. In later years his appearances became more sporadic and he died in Rome aged 42 after an operation which failed to remove a pulmonary embolism.

Vecsey composed a number of works for the violin, including this Preludio e Fuga in C minor which dates from 1914. The Preludio has a deeply tragic feel to it, a sense of searching for something unattainable, yet there are passages of aching beauty as well. The Fuga is a serious affair, with a heavy downward chromatic first subject. It is a test for the violinist, as the player must try and negotiate the chordal writing (often of three and four notes simultaneously) without distorting the rhythm of the melodic line. There is a constant build up of tension and, although the effect is intense, it has a forward momentum which mesmerises the listener.

(Naxos Music Library)

Please take note that the audio AND sheet music ARE NOT mine. Change the quality to a minimum of 480p if the video is blurry.

Original audio:    • Preludio e fuga I. Andante   and    • Preludio e fuga II. Allegro  
(Performance by: Vilmos Szabadi)
Original sheet music: http://imslp.org/wiki/Prelude_and_Fug...)