Violinist and pedagogue André Gertler is perhaps best known as a staunch advocate of the music of Béla Bartók who edited some of Bartók's music and, with Josef Suk, gave the first performance of Bartók's 44 Duos for two violins. After Bartók's death, Gertler became a prolific recording artist who undertook all manner of violin works by contemporary composers, including these two centrally significant, though neglected, modern concerti by Gian Francesco Malipiero and Alfredo Casella. They were written in 1932 and 1928, ...
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Violinist and pedagogue André Gertler is perhaps best known as a staunch advocate of the music of Béla Bartók who edited some of Bartók's music and, with Josef Suk, gave the first performance of Bartók's 44 Duos for two violins. After Bartók's death, Gertler became a prolific recording artist who undertook all manner of violin works by contemporary composers, including these two centrally significant, though neglected, modern concerti by Gian Francesco Malipiero and Alfredo Casella. They were written in 1932 and 1928, respectively, by composers both working under the spell of Stravinsky and neo-Classicism, yet dealing with the impact of that style in different ways. Supraphon's Malipiero/Casella: Violin Concertos, though recorded in 1971 and 1974, remains the sole recording of the Malipiero, and the Casella is represented in only one other version.Gertler's playing is thin-toned, light, wispy, flexible, and fleet in a manner reminiscent of David Oistrakh, who was a great friend of Gertler's. The...
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