Sarasate compositions

September 13, 2006 at 08:34 PM · In general, Sarasate's compositions are what we might call showpieces, i.e., pieces designed to showcase the violinist's virtuosity rather than Sarasate's talents and profundity as a composer.

September 14, 2006 at 03:10 AM · Luis - "everything we know" would fill several books! Please be more specific :)

One teaser - Sarasate and Saint-Saens where students together, and during that time SS wrote his first concerto for Sarasate.

September 14, 2006 at 03:19 AM · Sarasate was born in 1832 in a small village in Burgundy. At the age of 12 he realized he was Spanish, changed his birthdate and became a violin virtuoso. His compositions include, What I did On My Summer Vacation, and Why Our System of Government is the Best in the World. He lived to see the dawn of audio recording and then died. Some thought his death was untimely; others considered it punctual. Sarasate is respected by a small coterie of professionals and dilettantes who will eventually pass on as well, to be replaced by smaller and smaller such groups until he is as forgotten as a Neanderthal's uncle.

source: The One-Copy Encyclopedia of Informations, Prague, 1976

September 14, 2006 at 11:05 AM · haha!!!

As a matter of fact did Sarasate write any concert fantasy on Mozart's Magic Flute?

Read about it somewhere or in my dream....just to check up..

AN

September 14, 2006 at 11:31 AM · Yes he did, and on Don Giovanni too :)

September 14, 2006 at 06:51 PM · Here's a tid bit for you Matt...Sarasate wrote Two Fantasies on Don Giovanni. The first being written in his youth for violin and piano...the later being of course the op.51 for Violin and Orchestra :-)

My favorite fantasy on a Mozart opera is The Marriage of Figaro Fantasy written by Vieuxtemps in collaboration with Wolff...great stuff!

September 14, 2006 at 08:25 PM · Jon - and most don't know that Sarasate wrote two on Faust :-)

You don't happen to have the sheets for the one without opus (souvenir) do you?

September 14, 2006 at 08:32 PM · Indeed, many do not know that! The first is "Souvenir de Fausto" or something like that! :-)~ Naxos is working on the complete works of Sarasate right now...this has been of course attempted in the past by other labels. Not only are other labels incomplete in their recordings, the playing is typically horrible as well.

September 14, 2006 at 09:53 PM · There was apparently a Spanish set of complete Sarasate recordings. Any good?

September 15, 2006 at 03:17 AM · You are probably referring to Garcia's set and I can only agree to Jon - his playing is unimagnitative, has a dull tone, often out of tune, to little time to learn all the hurdles in them and it is lacking many origional works and all of the transcriptions.

But still - I bought it after I've listened to is since it is a daring attempt that I wanted in my collection :)

September 15, 2006 at 04:13 AM · Matt, I agree in full. It's a great reference set...sometimes Garcia sounds like a virtuoso, sometimes he sounds like a student! In particular, I love his recording of the op.2! Very good recording of that particular piece.

October 25, 2015 at 02:46 PM · I recently read this discussion about opera fantasies. These are some very beautiful music. I like to hear these, because I know the operas an I love violin music. Now thera are two new releases (2013 and 2015) with all opera fantasies of Pablo de Sarasate, played by a unknown German violinist:

Iris

October 25, 2015 at 08:35 PM ·

October 25, 2015 at 11:20 PM · I would like to put in a plug for Aaron Rosand here, as I feel that he is one of the very finest interpreters of Sarasate. His Style, flair, beauty of tone and sparkling virtuosity go beautifully with the Sarasate's Spanish music.

October 26, 2015 at 02:50 PM · If you are ever in Rochester, New York, stop into the Eastman Music Library. They have recordings of Sarasate performing on his violin. Despite the poor recording quality of the time, you can tell he was very good.