Catalogue

Summary:

“Frühwirth’s fine playing … promotes a sense of identification between composer and performer, the kind of rapport that is essential … Henri Sigfridsson offers excellent support and the sound is both forward and clear.” – Gramophone

“This album gets its title from the first piece by Gershwin and all the pieces that follow are short but have a story to tell, from Rachmaninov to Chopin. The premiere recording of Vieuxtemps’ Bohémienne is particularly haunting” – Classic FM magazine (August 2004)

“A witty and entertaining compilation that David Frühwirth presents confidently, brilliantly and grippingly. Slightly melancholic dance works, such as Kurt Weill’s Tango Habanera, are performed perfectly by Frühwirth and his piano accompanist Henri Sigfridsson. Entertainment at a high level” – Crescendo magazine (October 2004)

The title, taken from the opening Gershwin track, says it all. Each of the gems presented here by Austrian violinist David Frühwirth tells its own unique and captivating Short Story. David takes the listener on a musical journey through Western and Eastern Europe with an intriguing collection of miniatures, many by virtuoso violinists of the 19th and 20th centuries who applied their personal touch to the range and idiosyncrasies of their instrument to create these small but perfectly formed masterpieces. Works by relative unknowns such as Joseph Achron, Ovid Musin and Hans Sitt mingle with popular transcriptions by Kreisler, and arrangements of works by Glazunov, Ravel and Weill, including several world-premiere recordings.

David Frühwirth garnered international attention with his Gramophone Editor’s Choice Avie debut, Trails of Creativity (AV0009). On Short Stories, he applies the same ingenuity for seeking out unknown but deserving and striking repertoire.

Tracklist:

GEORGE GERSHWIN (1898–1937)
1. Short Story (tr. Dushkin) (2:58)

JENÖ HUBAY (1858–1937)
2. Bolero, Op. 51, No.3 (2:23)

MAURICE RAVEL (1875–1937)
3. Pièce en forme de Habanera (3:10)

KURT WEILL (1900–1950)
4. Tango Habanera “Youkali” (tr. Garlej) (5:13)

EFREM ZIMBALIST (1889–1985)
5. Sarasateana Suite – Tango (4:10)

ALEXANDER GLAZUNOV (1865–1936)
6. Valse, Op. 42, No. 3 (tr. Barinovoi) (4:26)

HENRYK WIENIAWSKI (1835–1880)
7. Fantasie Orientale (3:38)

JOSEPH ACHRON (1886–1943)
8. Liebeswidmung, Op. 51 (3:10)

OVIDE MUSIN (1854–1929)
9. Mazurka de Concert (4:41)

HANS SITT (1850–1922)
10. Bolero, Op. 95, No. 12 (3:32)

FREDERIC CHOPIN (1810–1849)
11. Mazurka in A Minor (tr. Kreisler) (3:31)

ISAAC ALBÉNIZ (1860–1909)
12. Tango, Op. 165, No. 2 (tr. Kreisler) (2:33)

SERGEI RACHMANINOV (1872–1943)
13. Danses Tziganes, Op. 6 (tr. Dushkin) (3:39)

FREDERIC CHOPIN
14. Valse in A minor, Op. 34, No. 2 (tr. Sarasate) (6:11)

HENRI VIEUXTEMPS (1820–1881)
15–17. Trois Morceaux Op. 40 (16:28)

Total time: 70:03

David Frühwirth, violin
Henri Sigfridsson, piano

Recorded 24 -26 July 2003, Vienna Symphony Studio, Konzerthaus, Vienna
Produced, Engineered and Edited by Simon Fox-Gal