Joshua Bell - Romance of the Violin - Sony Classical - SNYC 87894 - 696998789425

Bell's performances and his magnetic presence have earned him popularity and acclaim that reach far beyond core classical audiences. All the arrangements for this recording are by Craig Leon, who has produced and arranged albums for a broad spectrum of artists from Luciano Pavarotti to Blondie.

Notes & Reviews:

Throughout his career, violinist Joshua Bell has always sought to expand the range of works available for his instrument, and with the aptly titled ROMANCE OF THE VIOLIN, he ventures a bit further from the core of the repertoire. None of the selections on the album were composed for violin, and the works were chosen strictly for the beauty of their melody without regard to the original instrumentation.

Bell looks well beyond the confines of the violin for inspiration, tapping into the literature of piano works, vocal music, and even opera arias. The result is a stylistically diverse, but musically coherent, program of transcriptions and arrangements that spans over 400 years of music history, one that the prodigious violinist finds himself right at home in. Bell's interpretations eloquently convey the lyricism of works such as Debussy's "The Girl with the Flaxen Hair," Schumann's "Träumerei," and nocturnes by Chopin and Borodin. He's at his finest in the songs and arias such as "O Mio Babbino Caro" from Puccini's 'Gianni Schicchi,' "Casta Diva" from Bellini's 'Norma,' and Schubert's "Serenade" from the 'Schwanengesang' song cycle, gracefully applying his lush tone and elegant phrasing to the sublime melodies. The Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields provides superb accompaniment throughout this fine set.

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Works Details

Puccini, Giacomo : Gianni Schicchi, opera :: O Mio Babbino Caro

Performer: Joshua Bell (Violin)
Conductor: Michael Stern
Ensemble: Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Running Time: 3 min. 26 sec.
Period Time: Post Romantic
Written: 1918
Studio/Live: Studio

Debussy, Claude : La fille aux cheveux de lin

Performer: Joshua Bell (Violin)
Conductor: Michael Stern
Ensemble: Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Running Time: 2 min. 36 sec.
Period Time: Post Romantic
Written: 1910
Studio/Live: Studio

Chopin, Frédéric : Nocturne for piano no 20 in C sharp minor, KK IVa/16, CT. 127 (B. 49)

Performer: Joshua Bell (Violin)
Conductor: Michael Stern
Ensemble: Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Running Time: 4 min. 8 sec.
Period Time: Romantic
Studio/Live: Studio

Saint-Saëns, Camille : Carnival of the animals

Performer: Joshua Bell (Violin)
Conductor: Michael Stern
Ensemble: Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Running Time: 2 min. 49 sec.
Period Time: Post Romantic
Written: 1886
Studio/Live: Studio

Schubert, Franz : Ständchen ("Leise flehen meine Lieder"), song for voice & piano (Schwanengesang), D. 957/4

Performers: Joshua Bell (Violin); Craig Ogden (Guitar)
Conductor: Michael Stern
Ensemble: Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Running Time: 3 min. 47 sec.
Period Time: Romantic
Written: 1828
Studio/Live: Studio

Bellini, Vincenzo : Norma, opera :: Casta Diva

Performer: Joshua Bell (Violin)
Conductor: Michael Stern
Ensemble: Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Running Time: 4 min. 57 sec.
Period Time: Romantic
Written: 1831
Studio/Live: Studio

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus : Concerto for Piano no 21 in C major, K 467 :: Andante

Performer: Joshua Bell (Violin)
Conductor: Michael Stern
Ensemble: Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Running Time: 6 min. 16 sec.
Period Time: Classical
Form: Concerto
Written: 1785
Studio/Live: Studio

Gluck, Christoph Willibald : Christoph W. Gluck Dance of the Blessed Spirits

Performer: Joshua Bell (Violin)
Conductor: Michael Stern
Ensemble: Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Running Time: 3 min. 53 sec.
Period Time: Classical
Studio/Live: Studio

Borodin, Alexander : Quartet for Strings no 2 in D major

Performer: Joshua Bell (Violin)
Conductor: Michael Stern
Ensemble: Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Running Time: 6 min. 38 sec.
Period Time: Romantic
Written: 1881-1885
Studio/Live: Studio

Dvorak, Antonin : Gypsy Songs, Op. 55

Performers: Craig Ogden (Guitar); Joshua Bell (Violin)
Conductor: Michael Stern
Ensemble: Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Running Time: 2 min. 44 sec.
Period Time: Romantic
Form: Vocal
Studio/Live: Studio

Monteverdi, Claudio : L'Incirinazione Di Poppea :: Pur Ti Miro

Performers: John Constable (Harpsichord); Joshua Bell (Violin); Jacob Heringman (Lute); Stephen Orton (Cello)
Conductor: Michael Stern
Ensemble: Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Running Time: 3 min. 37 sec.
Period Time: Baroque
Form: Opera/Operetta
Written: 1642
Studio/Live: Studio

Massenet, Jules : Élégie :: O doux printemps d'autrefois, for voice & piano (from "Mélodies, Vol.1")

Performer: Joshua Bell (Violin)
Conductor: Michael Stern
Ensemble: Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Running Time: 4 min. 9 sec.
Period Time: Post Romantic
Written: 1866
Studio/Live: Studio

Schumann, Robert : Kinderszenen no 7 ("Träumerei"), for piano, Op. 15/7

Performer: Joshua Bell (Violin)
Conductor: Michael Stern
Ensemble: Academy of St. Martin in the Fields
Running Time: 2 min. 30 sec.
Period Time: Romantic
Written: 1838
Studio/Live: Studio

Joshua Bell - Romance of the Violin

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