Davyd Booth, Andrew Willis - Violin Rarities (1979) [DSD128]

Bohuslav Martinu (1890-1959) composed the Sept Arabesques (7 Arabesques) in Paris about 1930-31 during which period some 3 books of Aetudes rythmiques@ were written to aid students in learning how to play modern music. These studies followed the 1923 orchestral Half-Time. Martinu remained an individualist throughout his life, although Stravinsky & Debussy were said to be his greatest influences. As with other works, the Sept Arabesques anticipate later musical trends & often sound American, although Martinu was not to see USA until 1941.

Max Reger (1873-1916) is known best for his turgid organ works, although a handful of chamber works, the piano concerto, & some songs & shorter orchestral pieces get an occasional hearing. Modern recordings have done the most to advance his music. Although there are many published works for unaccompanied string instruments, the Introduction & Fantasy remains unpublished, even though it is one of Reger’s best in this idiom. A dazzling showpiece, the work features the familiar dies irae theme. Mr. Booth features this technically difficult gem frequently in his recitals.

The 2nd Violin Sonata (1923) is actually the 3rd written by Frederick Delius (1862-1934). The earliest (1892) sonata is unnumbered & was published only in 1977. Played as a single movement, the opening theme is heard brilliantly again in the finale after a lovely lyrical middle section. One may hear the influence of Grieg & possibly Strauss in this work, although Delius surely would have denied the latter!

Henri Vieuxtemps (1820-1881) was even more famous than his teacher, Charles de Beriot, who is considered the founder of the Belgian school of violin playing which set the style in Europe for 50 years. Vieuxtemps studied composition with Reicha & produced a large number of concert pieces of variable quality. Today, only the 4th & 5th Violin Concertos remain on the periphery of the active repertory. The Reverie, Op. 22, No. 3, & the Romance, Op. 7, No. 2, are attractive salon pieces which probably figured prominently in the composer’s many tours which included 3 to America. Mr. Booth uses a modern edition of Romance revised by F. Gulli & deletes 2 weak bars of the piano accompaniment at the end to create a stronger finish. To our knowledge these are the 1st recordings of the Martinu, Reger & Vieuxtemps, works.
~ William Marsh

Andrew Willis studied at the Curtis Institute of Music with Mieozyslaw Horszowski. Mr. Willis has performed with the Philadelphia Chamber Soloists, the Lenape Chamber Ensemble, & the Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia. Mr. Willis has been a faculty member of the New School of Music, Philadelphia, since 1974. He was a prize winner at both the First Gina Bachauer Piano Competition & the Musical Showcase Competition in Miami. In 1978 he won first prize in the Portland Symphony Orchestra Competition. Mr. Willis participated in the 1978 Marlboro Music Festival & later toured South America with violinist Peter Zazofsky as prizewinners of the National Federation of Music Clubs Young Artist Competition. Davyd Booth is a native of West Virginia who made several tours of USA & Mexico while still in his teens. A member of The Philadelphia Orchestra's second violin section, Davyd Booth often doubles on keyboard instruments & frequently plays for auditions & rehearsals with the Orchestra's soloists.


Tracks:

01-Martinu: Seven Arabesques
02-Reger: Introduction
03-Reger: Introduction
04-Delius: Sonata No. 2
05-Vieuxtemps: Reverie
06-Vieuxtemps: Romance

Personnel:

Davyd Booth (Violin)
Andrew Willis (Piano)

Recorded using two Schoeps microphones.
No limiting, equalization, or compression were used during its mastering or manufacture.
The first two works were recorded using closer miking to
reproduce more of the a bite out of the violin, as appropriate to those pieces.
Transferred from a 15ips 2 track master
Released with the Cooperation and Permission of DTR Recordings