Composer: Joseph Achron, Ernest Bloch, Johannes Brahms, Ernö Dohnányi, Jenö Hubay, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Fritz Kreisler, Richard Wagner, Leo Zeitlin
Performer: Danbi Um, Amy Yang
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Avie
Catalogue: AV2615
Release: 2023
Size: 1.06 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
Korngold: Much Ado About Nothing, Op. 11: suite for violin (or cello) & piano
01. No. 1, Maiden in the Bridal Chamber (Version for Violin & Piano)
02. No. 2, March of the Watch (Dogberry and Verges) [Version for Violin & Piano]
03. No. 3, Garden Scene (Version for Violin & Piano)
04. No. 4, Masquerade. Hornpipe (Version for Violin & Piano)
05. Wagner: Albumblatt ‘In das Album der Fürstin M.’, WWV 94
06. Brahms: Hungarian Dance No. 17 in F sharp minor
07. Hubay: Scène de la csárda No. 3 ‘Maros vize’, Op. 18
08. Dohnányi: Ruralia Hungarica No. 6 Op. 32 / A: Gipsy Andante
09. Achron: La romanesca
10. Zeitlin: Eli Zion
11. Achron: Hebrew Pieces (2), Op. 35: No. 1
12. Bloch: Sacred Service (Avodath Hakodesh)
13. Kreisler: Viennese Rhapsodic Fantasietta
Much Ado, the solo debut album by Korean American violinist Danbi Um is as striking for the young musician’s choice of “old world” repertoire as her virtuoso interpretations and the sumptuous sound she draws from her 1683 “ex-Petschek” Nicolo Amati violin. Danbi conjures memories of a musical Golden Age, a sensibility instilled in her by a roster of internationally renowned tutors.
The title track by Eric Korngold’s Shakespeare-inspired suite sits alongside arrangements of works by fellow Austro-Germanic composers Fritz Kreisler and Richard Wagner. Hungarian gipsy music infuses compositions by Johannes Brahms, Jeno Hubay and Erno Dohnanyi, juxtaposed with music by Jewish composers Ernst Bloch, Joseph Achron and Leo Zeitlin.
A multiple award winner – Danbi has taken top prizes at the Yehudi Menuhin and Naumberg International Violin Competitions, and Astral Artists’ Auditions – she has been praised by The Strad as an “utterly dazzling” artist with a “marvelous show of superb technique.”
A resident of New York City, Danbi performs regularly with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and further afield with the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Washington D.C.’s Phillips Collection, and the Rockport, Moab, Saratoga Performing Arts and Santa Fe Music Festivals.