Vesko Eschkenazy & Ludmil Angelov - The Fascinating George Gershwin (2003) [Hi-Res]

Following a number of successful duo performances by Vesko Eshkenazy and Ludmil Angelov the idea of recording an album with the two of them began to take shape. Angelov suggested doing something with music by George Gershwin. However Gershwin's original repertoire for violin and piano is rather limited. It consists of precisely one small composition entitled Short Story which has so far remained little known composed in association with the violinist Samuel Dushkin.

Therefore it was decided first to use the historic arrangements by Jascha Heifetz the brilliant violinist and bosom friend of Gershwin. Heifetz' arrangement of the Three Preludes For Piano contains in the outer movements various spectacular violin passages such as could be written only by an exceptional virtuoso. By contrast in the Andante it is the simplicity of the writing itself which demands the violinist's full input. Apart from this arrangement which he himself also recorded - and a frequently performed selection from Porgy and Bess Heifetz also worked on a violin-piano arrangement of An American in Paris.

This album begins with this work the version of which was compiled from Heifetz' remaining sketches by his pupil and accompanist the Indonesian violinist and pianist Ayke Agus.

"With jazzy glissandi, a natural feel for timing and above all a lot of guts and schwung violinist Vesko Eschkenazy, concertmaster of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra has now recorded these works on a light but also solid album... all participating musicians blend sublime together in an ensemble sound which calls for more of this kind of enthusiastic co-operations." (Mischa Spel, NRC Handelsblad)

"We have 14 tracks including a five-minute American in Paris, a ten-minute Rhapsody in Blue (with the opening solo played by the famous George Pieterson, principal clarinet of the Concertgebouw), and various songs and shorter works. These are bold performances vividly played very well recorded , with the performers in front, ambient sound from the rear." (Robert Benson, Classical-CD-Rreview)