Post by erik on Oct 17, 2015 19:28:48 GMT -5
Pablo de Sarasate's violin approach to "Carmen" wasn't the only one of that type; six decades after Sarasate's came another work of the same stripe, this one by one of Hollywood's best known film composers. That work is in this week's Classical Works Spotlight.
Franz Waxman: CARMEN FANTASY
Georges Bizet’s opera “Carmen”, apart from being among the top five or ten operas in the world, has also inspired dozens of works derived from it, including two different mini-concertos for violin and orchestra that utilize themes from the opera. Pablo de Sarasate, a master Spanish violinist and composer, unleashed his in 1882, just seven years after the opera premiered; and sixty-four years later, in 1946, German-born American film music composer Franz Waxman premiered his. Waxman’s “Carmen Fantasy”, naturally enough, had its beginnings in the cinema. He composed it as part of his score for the film HUMORESQUE; and it was not long before it became a concert staple. Initially, it was to be performed in the film by Jascha Heifetz, who was becoming a legend at that time; but due to certain complications, he was replaced at the last minute by another young up-and-comer, Isaac Stern. Stern’s own hands can be seen in the close-ups of the violin parts in the film. Like Sarasate’s, Waxman’s approach to “Carmen” utilizes the most beloved portions of the opera’s score, and ends with a sizzling adaptation of the Bohemian dance. And like Sarasate’s, Waxman’s has been a concert favorite of violinists ever since. Most importantly, though, it also has played a significant part in ensuring that “Carmen”’s success extends far beyond even the popularity of the opera stage. In the meantime, Waxman would continue creating some of Hollywood’s greatest film scores, including, among others, the one for Alfred Hitchcock’s voyeuristic 1954 classic REAR WINDOW, and the 1950 Billy Wilder classic SUNSET BOULEVARD.
Violin: MAXIM VENGEROV
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra/ZUBIN MEHTA (Teldec)
Included:
Paganini: VIOLIN CONCERTO NO. 1 IN D MAJOR, OP. 6
Saint-Saens: INTRODUCTION AND RONDO CAPRICCIOSO, OP. 28
Saint-Saens: HAVANAISE, OP. 83
Franz Waxman: CARMEN FANTASY
Georges Bizet’s opera “Carmen”, apart from being among the top five or ten operas in the world, has also inspired dozens of works derived from it, including two different mini-concertos for violin and orchestra that utilize themes from the opera. Pablo de Sarasate, a master Spanish violinist and composer, unleashed his in 1882, just seven years after the opera premiered; and sixty-four years later, in 1946, German-born American film music composer Franz Waxman premiered his. Waxman’s “Carmen Fantasy”, naturally enough, had its beginnings in the cinema. He composed it as part of his score for the film HUMORESQUE; and it was not long before it became a concert staple. Initially, it was to be performed in the film by Jascha Heifetz, who was becoming a legend at that time; but due to certain complications, he was replaced at the last minute by another young up-and-comer, Isaac Stern. Stern’s own hands can be seen in the close-ups of the violin parts in the film. Like Sarasate’s, Waxman’s approach to “Carmen” utilizes the most beloved portions of the opera’s score, and ends with a sizzling adaptation of the Bohemian dance. And like Sarasate’s, Waxman’s has been a concert favorite of violinists ever since. Most importantly, though, it also has played a significant part in ensuring that “Carmen”’s success extends far beyond even the popularity of the opera stage. In the meantime, Waxman would continue creating some of Hollywood’s greatest film scores, including, among others, the one for Alfred Hitchcock’s voyeuristic 1954 classic REAR WINDOW, and the 1950 Billy Wilder classic SUNSET BOULEVARD.
Violin: MAXIM VENGEROV
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra/ZUBIN MEHTA (Teldec)
Included:
Paganini: VIOLIN CONCERTO NO. 1 IN D MAJOR, OP. 6
Saint-Saens: INTRODUCTION AND RONDO CAPRICCIOSO, OP. 28
Saint-Saens: HAVANAISE, OP. 83
