One of the 20th century's most renowned
violinists, Szigeti is showcased in this diverse collection of concerto and chamber
favorites by Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Mendelssohn and Prokofiev, along with
several unique arrangements by Szigeti himself and a performance of Bartók's
Contrasts
with clarinetist Benny Goodman
(right).
Joseph Szigeti occupied a unique place among
20th-century violinists. He never possessed the staggering technical command of
Jascha Heifetz; his playing rarely glistened with the much-loved aristocratic
charm of Fritz Kreisler; he never could summon the lush, highly caloric tone of
Mischa Elman. Rather, Szigeti was known for the broad culture, profound artistry
and intellectual probity of his performances. It is no discourtesy to suggest
that he was a musician first and a violinist second, for his brilliant mind and
responsive heart would likely have been apparent through the medium of any
instrument.
Perhaps composer Ernest Bloch paid the highest tribute when he put off the world premiere of his Violin Concerto for a full year so that Szigeti might be the soloist. According to Bloch, the delay was well worth it: "The modern composers realize that when Szigeti plays their music, their inmost fancy, their slightest intentions become fully realized, and their music is not exploited for the glorification of the artist and his technique, but that artist and technique become the humble servant of the music."
Bloch was only one of many contemporary composers to benefit from Szigeti's advocacy. He was an early champion of the concertos of Ferruccio Busoni, Alban Berg, Sergei Prokofiev and Igor Stravinsky. His long collaboration with Béla Bartók led to numerous splendidly authoritative recordings — and to the creation of the composer's Contrasts. The list of works written for and dedicated to Szigeti is long and includes music by Eugène Ysaÿe, Alexander Tansman, Alan Rawsthorne, Alfredo Casella and Frank Martin.
Yet Szigeti was equally distinguished in the repertory of the Baroque, Classical and Romantic eras. He saw the history of music as a continuum, and refused to be typecast as anything other than an honest, well-rounded artist. At a time when many violinists devoted their recitals to familiar salon pieces, Szigeti derided such "fossilized repertoire" and refused to play it. This made him unpopular with some impresarios, and the violinist (who, despite his dedication, was a witty and self-effacing man) used to do a keen imitation of a cigar-chomping American concert promoter: "Let me tell you, Mr. Dzigedy — and I know what I'm talking about — your Krewtser Sonata bores the pants off my audiences!"
Fortunately, there were other, more thoughtful listeners who found Szigeti's work eloquent and important, and it was said that his Carnegie Hall concerts had a higher percentage of fellow musicians in the audience than would have turned out to hear any other violinist of his time.
The present collection features Szigeti during his peak years, in recordings dating from 1926 to 1946. (He recorded as early as 1908 and as late as the 1960s.) This is an apt and generous representation of the artist in works that were especially close to him: a Hungarian Rhapsody by one of his teachers, Jenö Hubay; Baroque classics by Bach, Tartini and Handel; the great violin concertos of Beethoven and Mendelssohn; more modern contributions to the concerto repertoire by Bloch and Prokofiev; and a good sampling of the chamber music he espoused throughout his long career, including Contrasts with Bartók and Benny Goodman.
On the occasion of the violinist's 80th birthday in 1972, the American critic Henry Roth published a moving and appropriate tribute in The Strad. "Szigeti," he wrote, "offered new vistas of imagination, breadth of vision, grandeur of spirit, sincerity of purpose, ineffable sensitivity and the exhilaration which accompanies daring new musical explorations. And he played with an intense visceral power which somehow always radiated his own humanism."
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