Agreed w Mr Chun, this is an amazing document. When I learned of the piece 20 years ago a recording was not to be found. Compared to the 1st Concerto this is a beast for the soloist. Don't be fooled by his tremendous performance, Primrose plays this amazingly well and makes it sound easier then it is. But definitely a worthy addition to the repertoire!
Milhaud was a violonist and as such the medium range sonority of the viola attracted him. To my knowledge, we wrote two concertos for viola and two sonatas for viola and piano. Recordings are available on RUclips. The present recording by authoritative interprets allow to perceive Milhaud's genius in this repertoire. The technique of Milhaud allows to identify superposed melodical lines, including the line of the soloist which is not always predominant.
Thank you SO much for uploading this VALUABLE document! I have never heard this, even though I have heard many, many very rare recordings of viola performances. I would LOVE to know the source of this: was this ever issued on CD?
Peter Chun You're welcome. To my knowledge this recording has never been issued. I purchased it from the website contraclassics, which I put a link to in the description above--they say they have historic recordings from the Biddulph label. In a William Primrose discography by Dave Hermann ( music.lib.byu.edu/piva/primrose%20discography--avs.htm ), the Milhaud recording is listed as being PD-1019 on the Performer's Domain label. I found a couple Joseph Gingold recordings from other distributors after a quick Google search, but I cannot find anything about the record label.
Agreed w Mr Chun, this is an amazing document. When I learned of the piece 20 years ago a recording was not to be found. Compared to the 1st Concerto this is a beast for the soloist. Don't be fooled by his tremendous performance, Primrose plays this amazingly well and makes it sound easier then it is. But definitely a worthy addition to the repertoire!
Milhaud was a violonist and as such the medium range sonority of the viola attracted him. To my knowledge, we wrote two concertos for viola and two sonatas for viola and piano. Recordings are available on RUclips. The present recording by authoritative interprets allow to perceive Milhaud's genius in this repertoire. The technique of Milhaud allows to identify superposed melodical lines, including the line of the soloist which is not always predominant.
Wonderful work, Primrose's concerns notwithstanding. The time has certainly arrived where this work could make a positive impact on the concert stage.
Thanx!
Thank you SO much for uploading this VALUABLE document! I have never heard this, even though I have heard many, many very rare recordings of viola performances. I would LOVE to know the source of this: was this ever issued on CD?
Peter Chun You're welcome. To my knowledge this recording has never been issued. I purchased it from the website contraclassics, which I put a link to in the description above--they say they have historic recordings from the Biddulph label. In a William Primrose discography by Dave Hermann ( music.lib.byu.edu/piva/primrose%20discography--avs.htm ), the Milhaud recording is listed as being PD-1019 on the Performer's Domain label. I found a couple Joseph Gingold recordings from other distributors after a quick Google search, but I cannot find anything about the record label.
I believe this is a live performance with a German Radio Orchestra
Does anyone know where to get the piano reduction of this? I won't be playing for an orchestra so I'd rather not drop the 100
Is there an opus number assigned to this concerto
340 according to Wikipedia
This concerto needs a forewarning: DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME