Fantaisie Brillante on Themes from Gounod’s Faust, Op 20
Henri Wieniawski (1835-80)
Although Henri Wieniawski was only five when the great violin virtuoso, Niccolò Paganini died in 1840, their paths could almost have crossed because the boy was already an accomplished violinist by then. He won a scholarship to the Paris Conservatoire in 1843, local rules being bent almost beyond recognition to facilitate the admission of an eight-year-old Polish national. He went on to win the top prize when he was eleven and pursued an unremittingly successful career until his early death. Although he missed knowing Paganini by a whisker, he became a good friend of another great 19th century violinist, Joseph Joachim, four years his senior and the soloist in the first performances of violin concertos by Max Bruch and Johannes Brahms. Joachim was present at the German première of Wieniawski’s Second Concerto, where Henri was taken ill on stage with a serious heart complaint. Learning that his friend could not continue his performance, Joachim mounted the stage and played Bach’s Chaconne for unaccompanied violin, ‘…thus greatly delighting the audience through this spontaneous act of good fellowship’, according to an eye-witness. Wieniawski’s virtuosity and expressive power were legendary in the 19th century, alas too early for recordings to be made, but several commentators tried to capture the magic of his playing in words, for example, the critic Czeslaw Halski suggested, quite simply, ‘Technical difficulties, it seems, do not exist for him.’
Wieniawski’s genius as a player did not infect his compositional powers profoundly. Within a small output of 24 published works, the Second Violin Concerto is his most distinguished piece. He tended to compose primarily to provide a platform for his astonishing powers as a violinist. This rarity, the Fantaisie Brillante, is an example. The melodic charm of the music belongs to Charles Gounod because all of the themes are taken from his highly successful opera, Faust, first performed in 1859. Wieniawski weaves an extended piece out of this potpourri with considerable skill. In particular, the solo part begins in a somewhat conventional manner, saving the most spectacular moments for the final pages, where the use of harmonics in a captivating waltz provide astonishment and delight for the listener. However, our pleasure stems from more than viewing a virtuoso at work. The music includes several moments of original harmony and orchestration that extend beyond mere slickness, suggesting that Wieniawski might have become a composer of stature, had he been granted more time and opportunity.
Henri Wieniawski (1835-80)
Although Henri Wieniawski was only five when the great violin virtuoso, Niccolò Paganini died in 1840, their paths could almost have crossed because the boy was already an accomplished violinist by then. He won a scholarship to the Paris Conservatoire in 1843, local rules being bent almost beyond recognition to facilitate the admission of an eight-year-old Polish national. He went on to win the top prize when he was eleven and pursued an unremittingly successful career until his early death. Although he missed knowing Paganini by a whisker, he became a good friend of another great 19th century violinist, Joseph Joachim, four years his senior and the soloist in the first performances of violin concertos by Max Bruch and Johannes Brahms. Joachim was present at the German première of Wieniawski’s Second Concerto, where Henri was taken ill on stage with a serious heart complaint. Learning that his friend could not continue his performance, Joachim mounted the stage and played Bach’s Chaconne for unaccompanied violin, ‘…thus greatly delighting the audience through this spontaneous act of good fellowship’, according to an eye-witness. Wieniawski’s virtuosity and expressive power were legendary in the 19th century, alas too early for recordings to be made, but several commentators tried to capture the magic of his playing in words, for example, the critic Czeslaw Halski suggested, quite simply, ‘Technical difficulties, it seems, do not exist for him.’
Wieniawski’s genius as a player did not infect his compositional powers profoundly. Within a small output of 24 published works, the Second Violin Concerto is his most distinguished piece. He tended to compose primarily to provide a platform for his astonishing powers as a violinist. This rarity, the Fantaisie Brillante, is an example. The melodic charm of the music belongs to Charles Gounod because all of the themes are taken from his highly successful opera, Faust, first performed in 1859. Wieniawski weaves an extended piece out of this potpourri with considerable skill. In particular, the solo part begins in a somewhat conventional manner, saving the most spectacular moments for the final pages, where the use of harmonics in a captivating waltz provide astonishment and delight for the listener. However, our pleasure stems from more than viewing a virtuoso at work. The music includes several moments of original harmony and orchestration that extend beyond mere slickness, suggesting that Wieniawski might have become a composer of stature, had he been granted more time and opportunity.