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| Label Champs Hill |
UPC 5060212591685 |
Catalogue number CHRCD 161 |
Release date 05 February 2021 |
Rising star violinist Nathan Meltzer releases his debut recording: an homage to Roman Totenberg recorded on the famous ‘Ames, Totenberg’ Stradivarius violin (1734).
The Ames Totenberg violin was famously stolen from Professor Totenberg in 1980 and recovered by the FBI some 35 years later from a California basement.Totenberg’s daughters arranged for the instrument to be restored and sold to an anonymous buyer. Nathan Meltzer became its proud custodian in October 2018, beginning a new chapter in its history.
For his debut album, made together with pianist Rohan De Silva, Meltzer has recorded a selection of Professor Totenberg's favourite pieces, including the Wieniawski Polonaise and Szymanowski Arethusa, which Totenberg performed for President Roosevelts at a White House recital in 1936.
“For my first album, I wanted to give an admiring nod to the great teacher and virtuoso violinist Roman Totenberg, whose memory I hope to honour as the current guardian of his beloved violin. It has been amazing to play the Ames,Totenberg Stradivarius, and not just because a lot of people want to hear it again. After all those years locked in the basement, the instrument is opening up and finding its voice – in a way, evolving.
Likewise, with this recording, I wanted to illustrate the generational evolution of music and the people who perform it, striking a balance between my own sensibilities and the heritage of this wonderful instrument. The mix of composers includes Szymanowski and Wieniawski, who Roman Totenberg championed and performed frequently; Bartók, who he played brilliantly and I hold close to my heart; and Bach and Franck, whose sonatas are staples of the repertory and move me deeply.”
Recipient of the 2020 Salon de Virtuosi Career Grant, and youngest ever to win the Windsor Festival International String Competition, Nathan has been a soloist with the Orchestre national d'Île-de-France, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Royal Northern Sinfonia, and the Aalborg, Berlin, Concepción, Evansville, Indianapolis, Medellín, and Pittsburgh orchestras, among others, performing in Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Poland, Switzerland, the UK, and across the US.
As a recitalist and chamber musician, Nathan has performed at ChamberFest Cleveland, Giardini La Mortella, the Heidelberger Frühling, the Krzyżowa Festival, the Moritzburg Festival, the Musical de l’Orne, the Perlman Chamber Workshop, and the Verbier Festival Academy. He has been a concert artist with Omega Ensemble since 2016.
Nathan’s 2020-21 season includes the release of his debut CD with Rohan De Silva, appearances with the Adelphi and Hull Philharmonic orchestras, and the launch of Opus Illuminate, an online concert series dedicated to the works of composers from underrepresented communities.
Nathan studies with Itzhak Perlman and Li Lin at Juilliard. He performs on the “Ames, Totenberg” Antonio Stradivari violin, Cremona 1734, generously on long-term loan from Rare Violins In Consortium, Artists and Benefactors Collaborative.
Wieniawski was a Polish composer. Even though he came from a jewish family, his father converted to catholocism. Wieniawski's violin talent was quickly discovere, in 1843 he attended the conservatory of Paris at the age of 8. After he graduated, Wieniawski went on tour giving many recitals. He was often accompanied by his brother, Józef. In 1847, he published his first work, the Grand Caprice Fantastique.
On invitation by Anton Rubinstein, Wieniawski moved to St. Petersburg where he stayed until 1872. There, he taught a large number of violin students, led the Russian Musical Society's orchestra and string quartet. Fro, 1872 to 1874, Wieniawski toured throughout the United States together with Rubinstein and in 1875, he replaced Henri Vieuxtemps as a violin teacher at the conservatory of Brussels. In Brussels, his health declined fast, which at one time forced him to stop a performance midway through. He gave his farewell concert in 1879. A year later he died from a heart attack in Moscow.
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. He enriched established German styles through his skill in counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organisation, and the adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from abroad, particularly from Italy and France. Bach's compositions include the Brandenburg Concertos, the Goldberg Variations, the Mass in B minor, two Passions, and hundreds of cantatas. His music is revered for its technical command, artistic beauty, and intellectual depth.
Bach's abilities as an organist were highly respected during his lifetime, although he was not widely recognised as a great composer until a revival of interest in and performances of his music in the first half of the 19th century. He is now generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.
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