Credits:

Various Artists

Description:

Arnold Steinhardt, 1st violinist of the Guarneri String Quartet, digitally recorded in 1995! Biddulph is known for reissuing historical recordings of string players, and has also made a small number of digital recordings of performers who carry on the traditions of the past. Arnold Steinhardt, born in Los Angeles in 1937, studied violin with Carl Moldrem and Tosha Seidel under Leopold Auer, and made his solo debut at age 14 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He also studied with Ivan Galamian and Joseph Szigeti, and won third prize at the Elisabeth Competition in 1963. The center of his activities was the Guarneri String Quartet, where he served as first violin for 45 years since its founding in 1964. Steinhardt is a regular participant of the Marlboro Festival, and his name is often found on the recording roster of the Festival's orchestra, conducted by Pablo Casals. Weber's Violin Sonata was commissioned for amateur performers from the emerging middle class at the time.The sonatas are shorter and plainer than Beethoven's sonatas, but they are filled with familiar melodies and exotic tastes, such as Polish, Russian, and Sicilian dances, and are a joy to play and to listen to. Steinhardt's performance conveys the delicate and lovely charm of the pieces without exaggerating the expression. Pianist Seymour Lipkin (1927-2015), a virtuoso who studied with Zelkin and Horshovsky and won the Rachmaninoff Competition, performed repeatedly with Sell, Ormandy, Rainer, Munch, and others. As a student, Lipkin was recruited to tour the United States with Heifetz, and he also enjoyed chamber music, performing with violists such as Shumsky, Rosand, and Woogi. Here, too, he plays with grace and elegance in the style of Steinhardt. Naxos Japan