Violin Diabolique $2.75

About Violin Diabolique

As virtuoso violinists, the Moravian Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst (1814-65) and the Pole Henryk Wieniawski (1835-80) were legends in their own lifetimes. Their paths occasionally crossed, and in London in 1859 both were members of what must have been one of the greatest string quartets in history, the Beethoven Quartet Society, along with Joseph Joachim and the cellist Alfredo Piatti (Wieniawski performed as the violinist).

Both Ernest and Wieniawski died before the era of sound recording, and their personal wizardry and
magnetism can only dimly be recaptured in the written testimony of their contemporaries. Yet to a significant extent it lives on in their own works for their instrument: for both were composers who significantly expanded the boundaries and meaning of bravura technique. While Wieniawski has always maintained a tenuous hold on the general concert repertoire through the perennial popularity of his D minor Violin Concert (1862), Ernst has long been the preserve of violin specialists only – unjustly, for he was Wieniawski’s equal as a musical thinker.

Born in Brno, Ernst swiftly showed signs of talent. When he was 14 he first heard Paganini – an experience which transformed his life. He followed the great virtuoso on his travels, absorbing the special features of his technique through close observation, and impressed him by being able to play by ear unpublished works featured in his performances. When Ernst was 23 they finally appeared together. Critical opinion agreed that Paganini surmounted more difficulties, but Ernst played with greater feeling. For the next 20 years he lived the life of an itinerant virtuoso, building a reputation as one of Europes greatest violinists and befriending Berlioz and Mendelssohn. He toured all over Europe, eventually settling down in London for the last decade of his life, a period overshadowed by incurable illness. In Joachim’s opinion, Ernst was the greatest Violinist he had ever heard: ‘he towered above all others’.

A generation younger than Ernst, Wieniawski was born in Lublin, nephew of Chopin’s close friend Eduard Wolff, and the elder of 2 child prodigies (his brother Jozef had a distinguished career as a pianist). At age 8 he was accepted for the violin master class at the Paris Conservatoire, and graduated at 11 with the Conservatoire’s 1st prize. He traveled Russia and Poland for a number of years performing and becoming friends with many of the great composers of the era, he had a profound influence on the growth of the Russian school of violin playing. In 1872 he went to the USA with Rubinstein, giving 215 concerts in his final year, and ruining his health in the process. He returned to Europe with a large fortune and a severe heart condition. He became professor of violin at the Brussels Conservatoire, but 2 years later resumed his concert career. A compulsive gambler, he was once more in dire need of funds. In 1879 he fell ill during a Russian tour and died in early 1880 in Moscow, after being cared for at the home of Tchaikovsky’s patroness Nadezhda von Meck. As a performer he was admired, indeed adulated, for his blend of French elegance and Slavonic fire, perfect intonation and flawless bowing. Rubinstein called him the greatest violinist of the age.

Romanian born Sherban Lupu is the winner of numerous international competitions, and has toured Europe and North America extensively. He is especially renowned for his performances of Romanian and Eastern European works, as well as more mainstream Germanic composers.

In an international career Peter Pettinger has specialized in performing works written for duos, working with predominantly string players. He has performed and recorded with many of the worlds leading musicians, including Sandor Vegh and Nigel Kennedy.