Gil Shaham

Last night a friend and I went to see the opening night performance for the Houston Symphony. The program for the night consisted of:

• Liszt/Muller-Berghaus’ Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C minor
• Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen (Gypsy Airs) for Violin and Orchestra, Opus 20
• Sarasate’s Concert Fantasies on Carmen for Violin and Orchestra, Opus 25
• Excerpts from Bizet’s L’Arlesienne

While I really enjoyed the Bugs Bunny music the best part of the performance, besides the lady who kept snoozing off on the other side of my date, was Gil Shaham’s performance of the solo violin in Sarasate’s Concert Fantasies on Carmen. His performance was incredible and sent chills down my spine. While searching for a recording of him performing the piece I found the following video of him performing the piece on YouTube:



While I feel his performance in Houston was superior to this one, this should give you some idea of what it was like.

On a side note I just noticed that the Houston Symphony Magazine which they give out at the performances has, in the performance notes section, suggested recordings for each piece they perform. For your ordering enjoyment I have included links below to the recommended CDs from the MusicaBona however if you live in the Houston area I would encourage you to go to Joel's Classical Shop rather than buying online.

• Liszt/Muller-Berghaus’ Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C minor
• Antal Dorati conducting the London Symphony Orchestra (Mercury 2MM432015)
• Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen (Gypsy Airs) for Violin and Orchestra, Opus 20
• Sarasate’s Concert Fantasies on Carmen for Violin and Orchestra, Opus 25
• Anne-Sophie Mutter with James Levine conducting the Vienna Philharmonic (Deutsche Grammophon 2GH 437544)
• Excerpts from Bizet’s L’Arlesienne
• Myung Whun Chung conducting L’Orchestre de L’Opera Bastille (Deutsche Grammaphon 0289417 3625)
• (Except for this one. I was not able to find the suggested recording anywhere but Amazon.ca. Oh well.)

Tags: Music