Rodolphe Kreutzer was a German (many would say French) violinist, composer, teacher, and conductor born (in Versailles) on November 16, 1766 (Mozart was 10 years old, Beethoven would not be born for another 4 years, and Paganini would be born 16 years later.) Despite his having written much concert music, including nineteen violin concertos and more than forty operas and ballets, he is remembered for his book (1796) of 42 etudes for violin – Canadian violinist Jacques Israelevitch was the first to record them. Kreutzer is also remembered as the violinist to whom Beethoven dedicated his ninth violin sonata (1803), after having first dedicated it to another violinist, George Bridgetower - Bridgetower even premiered the work. Ironically, Kreutzer never played the sonata and even declared it incomprehensible. (He had met Beethoven in Vienna in 1798.) His name is now synonymous with the famous sonata. There are also no fewer than four Stradivarius violins which bear his name. He studied first with his violinist father then with Anton Stamitz. He may also have studied with Giovanni Viotti, but that is far from certain. In 1782, after his father died, he took his father’s place as concertmaster of the royal orchestra. He was 16 years old - Marie-Antoinette was a patron of his. He eventually (1801) became concertmaster of the Paris Opera orchestra, where he later conducted (from 1817 until 1826.) Together with Pierre Rode and Pierre Baillot, he wrote the Paris Conservatory’s violin method book. He taught at the Conservatory from 1795 until 1826 – thirty one years. In 1806, he was solo violinist to Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1815, he also held the title of concertmaster for Louis XVIII. All the while, he kept composing. It has been written that his style of playing was individualistic, full of fiery flourishes, fine finish, and pure tone. He broke an arm in 1825 (I don’t know which) and retired from playing. He then also retired from conducting in 1826. He was 60 years old. In 1831, after being repeatedly rebuffed by the Paris Opera administration (they refused to produce his last opera), he moved to Switzerland, where he died (in Geneva) on June 6, 1831, at age 64. His music (other than the etudes) is now almost never played. Here is an audio file of his violin concerto number 18, a very rare performance.
Showing posts with label Kreutzer Stradivarius. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kreutzer Stradivarius. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Rodolphe Kreutzer
Rodolphe Kreutzer was a German (many would say French) violinist, composer, teacher, and conductor born (in Versailles) on November 16, 1766 (Mozart was 10 years old, Beethoven would not be born for another 4 years, and Paganini would be born 16 years later.) Despite his having written much concert music, including nineteen violin concertos and more than forty operas and ballets, he is remembered for his book (1796) of 42 etudes for violin – Canadian violinist Jacques Israelevitch was the first to record them. Kreutzer is also remembered as the violinist to whom Beethoven dedicated his ninth violin sonata (1803), after having first dedicated it to another violinist, George Bridgetower - Bridgetower even premiered the work. Ironically, Kreutzer never played the sonata and even declared it incomprehensible. (He had met Beethoven in Vienna in 1798.) His name is now synonymous with the famous sonata. There are also no fewer than four Stradivarius violins which bear his name. He studied first with his violinist father then with Anton Stamitz. He may also have studied with Giovanni Viotti, but that is far from certain. In 1782, after his father died, he took his father’s place as concertmaster of the royal orchestra. He was 16 years old - Marie-Antoinette was a patron of his. He eventually (1801) became concertmaster of the Paris Opera orchestra, where he later conducted (from 1817 until 1826.) Together with Pierre Rode and Pierre Baillot, he wrote the Paris Conservatory’s violin method book. He taught at the Conservatory from 1795 until 1826 – thirty one years. In 1806, he was solo violinist to Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1815, he also held the title of concertmaster for Louis XVIII. All the while, he kept composing. It has been written that his style of playing was individualistic, full of fiery flourishes, fine finish, and pure tone. He broke an arm in 1825 (I don’t know which) and retired from playing. He then also retired from conducting in 1826. He was 60 years old. In 1831, after being repeatedly rebuffed by the Paris Opera administration (they refused to produce his last opera), he moved to Switzerland, where he died (in Geneva) on June 6, 1831, at age 64. His music (other than the etudes) is now almost never played. Here is an audio file of his violin concerto number 18, a very rare performance. 
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Maxim Vengerov
Maxim Vengerov (Maxim Alexandrovich Vengerov) is a Russian violinist, teacher, writer, and conductor born on August 20, 1974 (Itzhak Perlman was 28 years old.) He is known for his phenomenal technique, extroverted playing, high fees, and tango dancing. He began his study of the violin at age 5 (fairly typical for a violinist) in his home town of Novosibirsk. Two years later, he continued his studies at the Special Music School in Moscow. Three years after that, Vengerov began his studies with Zakhar Bron (in Novosibirsk) and continued with him for about the next six years, part of those six years at the Royal Academy of Music in London. By this time, he had won first prize in the Carl Flesch Violin Competition in London (1989 – at age 15). He has been giving master classes, concertizing, and recording ever since. Vengerov has played on three or four different Stradivarius violins, the Kreutzer being one of them (I do not know which one – there are four Stradivarius violins named Kreutzer - from 1701, 1720, 1727, and 1731. See comments below.) Some of his many recordings have won top prizes and high praise from critics. Vengerov took a nine-month sabbatical in 2005, during which he learned jazz improvisation and the electric violin – in the style of Leila Josefowicz, and Nigel Kennedy – and during which he (despite the sabbatical) also played 50 recitals. Sometime during June of 2007, Vengerov stopped playing altogether in order to deal with a shoulder ailment and to concentrate on teaching and conducting (he has been studying conducting since 1998.) Vengerov has been teaching at the Royal Academy (London) since 2005, but at other schools as well – in the style of Daniel Barenboim. There are many Vengerov videos on YouTube and several fan pages on Facebook.
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