Bruch: Scottish Fantasy, Op. 46 / Violin Concerto No. 1 In G Minor, Op. 26

Joshua Bell (violin/director) & Academy of St. Martin in the Fields

A new Sony Classical release from Grammy Award-winning violinist Joshua Bell showcases two masterpieces from romantic composer Max Bruch. The album features Bell’s first recording of the virtuosic Scottish Fantasy as well as a new recording of the Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, which he first recorded over thirty years ago with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and Sir Neville Marriner. Now, as Music Director of the Academy, Bell both performs and directs the orchestra and offers a fresh take on the Bruch Concerto in addition to a thrilling performance of the Scottish Fantasy. In recent years, the Scottish Fantasy has become a favourite performance piece for Bell and his affection for the piece runs deep and with good reason: “My father’s descendants were from Scotland, and I grew up hearing stories about how my great- grandfather and great-great-grandfather fought in the Black Watch in Scotland. My dad was proud of his Scottish heritage, and this connection makes the melodies in Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy even more meaningful to me.” The Fantasy bristles with the snap and lilt of Scottish folk songs and Bell goes on to say “It is one of the most beautiful and touching pieces I know, and so brilliantly orchestrated. It is a unique ‘concerto,’ not following the traditional three-movement form. Each of its four movements tells a story.”

Bell recalls how Bruch’s ever-popular Violin Concerto No.1 was the first major concerto he learned as an 11-year-old. “This piece is connected to so many memories!” Bell mentions that the great nineteenth-century violinist, Joseph Joachim, who figured prominently in Bell’s recent Sony Classical release, For the Love of Brahms, placed Bruch’s concerto in the same league as those of Beethoven, Brahms, and Mendelssohn and called it “the most seductive of violin concertos.” Bell says, “It is a huge audience favorite because it is so rich and lush. It has excitement, power, passion, and intimacy--it’s got everything!” “Now after more than thirty years of performing this concerto and with a variety of conductors, I am still inspired by the work, and I continue to find myself exploring fresh ideas and new possibilities for expression. As Music Director, I now have the opportunity to conduct while playing the solo part and it actually brings a whole new dimension to this piece. The Academy of St Martin in the Fields has become my musical family over the past decade, and I feel we have special chemistry!"

Bruch:
 Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26
 Scottish Fantasy, Op. 46

"Het is opmerkelijk hoeveel violisten vroeg of laat aan het dirigeren slaan. Jaap van Zweden, Pinchas Zukerman, Nikolaj Znaider en Maxim Vengerov verruilden hun vioolstok gedeeltelijk of zelfs helemaal voor het dirigeerstokje. De Amerikaanse violist Joshua Bell stort zich nu als solist en dirigent op de muziek van Max Bruch in geoliede dialogen met ‘zijn’ Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Bell heeft er al een dertigjarige solocarrière opzitten, maar nam nog niet eerder de Schotse fantasie van Bruch op, een luisterrijk solowerk dat veel violisten pas laat in hun carrière op hun repertoire zetten. Net als bij het fraai vertolkte Eerste vioolconcert van Bruch staat of valt eigenlijk alles bij de Schotse fantasie met een zangerige toonvorming en natuurlijk ademende melodielijnen. Bell is romanticus genoeg om affiniteit te hebben met de muzikale inhoud van Bruchs werken, maar zijn zuivere toon neigt wat mij betreft iets te veel naar het gepolijste om te kunnen raken. Er zouden meer emoties en kleurnuances in zijn lezing mogen doorklinken. Maar als het gaat om oorstrelende perfectie en een bijkans ideale wisselwerking met het soepel begeleidende orkest, scoort Bell met Bruch heel hoog."
Klassieke Zaken Magazine 4-2018

"At the very opening of the concerto…there’s now more than a dash of gypsy soulfulness and spice. His tone fairly throbs with vibrato, ornately embroidered with portamento. How much warmer the Adagio is, too; less poised and aloof, more ardent and elastic. This elasticity is perhaps even more crucial in the Scottish Fantasy, with its fancifully discursive solo part, and Bell’s rubato feels natural and authoritative throughout."
Gramophone Magazine July 2018

"Bell, now in charge of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, proves a capable conductor as well as, when required, a sumptuous Romantic violinist. He is fully aware of the performance practices of the time in which these pieces were written, with plenty of portamento and the richest tone that an abandoned vibrato can produce."
BBC Music Magazine - October 2018 *****

"‘One of Bell’s most captivatingly inspired releases’, noemde The Strad zonder aarzelen de opname van het Eerste vioolconcert en de Schotse fantasie van Max Bruch door Joshua Bell en de aloude Academy of St Martin in the Fields. De Amerikaanse violist nam het vioolconcert in zijn jonge jaren al eens op met hetzelfde orkest. Waar ooit de jeugdige bravoure danste, regeren nu de rijpheid en wijsheid van de vijftigplusser. En die passen Bruch als een tweede huid, waardoor vooral Bells pleidooi voor de nog altijd minder gewaardeerde Schotse fantasie aan diepte en kracht wint."
Aangenaam Klassiek 2020