James Ehnes - Lalo: Symphonie Espagnole; Saint-Saens: Violin Concerto No. 3 - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Pablo de Sarasate was born in Pamplona, Spain, and became an acclaimed virtuoso of the violin by the tender age of twelve. The child prodigy was sent away to study at the Paris Conservatoire, and Sarasate spent the rest of his life in Paris. In demand nationally and internationally as a soloist, he was the dedicatee of a large number of important concertos by composers ranging from Max Bruch to Henryk Wieniawski. Lalo's Symphonie espagnole was composed for Sarasate, who gave the Paris premiere, in 1875. The work is laid out in five movements and bristles with Spanish themes, rhythms, and influences, which were very much the vogue in France at that time. Also composed for Sarasate, Saint-Saens' Third Violin Concerto was composed in 1880. Written in his usual clear, refined, almost classical style, the work has endured as the most played of his three violin concertos. The album is completed with Sarasate's own fantasia on Bizet's Carmen - a virtuosic tour de force for the soloist, brilliantly played here by James Ehnes. Album Tracks 1. Symphonie espagnole, Op. 21 in D minor for Violin and Orchestra~I. Allegro non troppo - Sans ralentir 2. Symphonie espagnole, Op. 21 in D minor for Violin and Orchestra~II. Scherzando. Allegro molto - Poco più lento - Tempo I - [ ] - Tempo I 3. Symphonie espagnole, Op. 21 in D minor for Violin and Orchestra~III. Intermezzo. Allegretto non troppo - Un peu plus lent - tempo I 4. Symphonie espagnole, Op. 21 in D minor for Violin and Orchestra~IV. Andante 5. Symphonie espagnole, Op. 21 in D minor for Violin and Orchestra~V. Rondo. Allegro - Sans ralentir - Poco più lento - Poco più lento - Accelerando poco a poco - Accelerando - Tempo I [Allegro] - Sans ralentir 6. Concerto No. 3, Op. 61 in B minor for Violin with Orchestral Accompaniment~I. Allegro non troppo 7. Concerto No. 3, Op. 61 in B minor for Violin with Orchestral