Tchaikovsky
works for Violin & orchestra
Moonkyung Lee
London Symphony Orchestra
Miran Vaupotić conductor
OVERVIEW
While speaking on Édouard Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole, Op.21, Pyotr Tchaikovsky posited that his colleague “does not strive after profundity, but carefully avoids routine, seeks out new forms, and thinks about musical beauty more than observing established traditions.” Acclaimed violinist Moonkyung Lee endeavors to emulate this approach on her Navona debut TCHAIKOVSKY – WORKS FOR VIOLIN AND ORCHESTRA, in which she presents several performances of beloved Tchaikovsky alongside the London Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Miran Vaupotić.
Lee finds particular success in this regard with her performance of Violin Concerto in D Major, Op.35, elevating several of the work’s unorthodoxies to the foreground. Her bow breathes new life into the unusual cadential sections in the first movement, its song-like Canzonetta second movement, and the Russian folk-infused finale.
The album also includes a performance of the Méditation, a piece originally written as a middle movement for the violin concerto before its inclusion as the first movement of the Souvenir d’un lieu cher (Memory of a dear place), Op.42. Its nostalgic emotions are quintessential Tchaikovsky, and its subsequent popularity has led to presentations as a standalone piece. Lee chooses to perform an arrangement for violin and orchestra made by Glazunov in 1896.
Finally, the violinist seizes the Sérénade mélancolique in B-flat minor, Op.26, Tchaikovsky’s first work for violin and orchestra. Like the Méditation and the violin concerto, it is filled with the intense emotion intrinsic to so much of his music. Lee singles out the end of the piece as particularly magical, lauding the moment “when the fragmented theme is reiterated by the clarinet and the solo violin in absolute stillness.”
HIGHLIGHTS
Korean concert violinist Moonkyung Lee performs extensively across Europe, the United States, and Korea. She has performed under the baton of Maxim Shostakovich, with Mischa Maisky on Beethoven’s Triple Concerto, and with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra in celebration of the 250th Anniversary of the birth of Austrian composer Ignaz Pleyel.
Lee has received many awards, including the Luigi Zanuccoli International Competition, the Padova International Competition, the New York University Concerto Competition, the Yale Chamber Music Celebration, and an NYU/Steinhardt Doctoral Fellowship for Ph.D. Studies (of which she was the first ever classical string performer recipient).
Lee has studied at New England Conservatory, Yale University, and New York University. She is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Seoul.
Dynamic Croatian conductor Miran Vaupotić enjoys a formidable international presence, having performed on four continents. He is a strong supporter of new music, and has conducted a wide variety of opera, from Mozart and Rossini to Piazzolla.
Vaupotić is one of the international ambassadors for the EMMA for Peace (Euro Mediterranean Music Academy) under the patronage of UNESCO and honorary presidency of Riccardo Muti.
ALSO ON NAVONA
(NV5946) 
SONIC FLIGHT
Michael G. Cunningham
Release Date February 10, 2017
Catalog #: NV6079
TRACK LISTING
London Symphony Orchestra | Miran Vaupotić conductor
Moonkyung Lee violin
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35
01 Allegro moderato
02 Canzonetta: Andante
03 Finale: Allegro vivacissimo
04 Méditation in D minor from Souvenir d’un lieu cher, Op. 42
05 Sérénade mélancolique in B-flat minor for violin and orchestra, Op. 26
CREDITS
Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35
Recorded June 20 2016 at The Angel Studios in London UK
Méditation in D minor from Souvenir d’un lieu cher, Op. 42
Recorded June 20 and 21 2016 at The Angel Studios in London UK
Sérénade mélancolique in B-flat minor for violin and orchestra, Op. 26
Recorded June 21 2016 at The Angel Studios in London UK
Recording Session Producer Krešimir Seletković
Recording Session Engineer Steve Price
Editing and Mixing Davor Rocco
Executive Producer Bob Lord
Executive A&R Sam Renshaw
Audio Director Jeff LeRoy
Engineering Manager Lucas Paquette
Art & Production Director Brett Picknell
Graphic Design Emily Roulo
Marketing Scott Murphy
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