Beethoven and more 2011 podcast #22: Full of fire
October 7, 2011
Johan Halvorsen
Passacaglia for violin and cello after George Frideric Handel
Geza Hosszu-Legocky, violin
Rodin Moldovan, cello
MP3 recorded in the Beethoven Hall, Bonn, on September 24, 2011 by West German Radio, Cologne (WDR)
The Roma and Sinti Philharmonic draws musicians of Roma and Sinti heritage from across Europe together to celebrate their culture's influence on music from folk to classical. This recording is a fine example of that.
Violinist Geza Hosszu-Legocky has performed as part of the Roma and Sinti orchestral project in the past, also stealing the show as a soloist. The fleet-fingered 26-year-old said that playing violin has been in his family for generations, with his grandfather having been a big influence on his performance style.
Hosszu-Legocky is joined here by cellist Rodin Moldovan for a passacaglia on a theme by Handel, penned in 1893 by Norwegian composer Johan Halvorsen. It's a piece at once melancholy and gentle but full of fire, especially as the instrumentalists charge toward the work's somber close.
Author: Greg Wiser
Editor: Rick Fulker