Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto (Nicola Benedetti album)

Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto
Studio album by Nicola Benedetti
Released	15 May 2006
Genre	Classical
Length	55:57
Label	Universal Classics and Jazz
Nicola Benedetti chronology
Szymanowski: Violin Concerto No. 1 (2005) Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto (2006) Vaughan Williams and Tavener (2007)

Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto is the second studio album by Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti.

Album information

Benedetti's second album, recorded with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, was released on 15 May 2006. Works include Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E Minor, Mozart's Adagio for Violin and Orchestra, Schubert's Serenade and Ave Maria, and James MacMillan's From Ayrshire, which was written especially for her.^[1][2]

Track listing

1. "Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64"
   1. I. "Allegro molto appassionato" - 13:01
   2. II. "Andante" - 8:35
   3. III. "Allegro non troppo - Allegro molto vivace" - 5:55
2. "Adagio in E" – 6:43
3. "Rondo for Violin and Orchestra in C" – 5:26
4. "Serenade: Standchen No. 4 from Schwanengesang" – 4:07
5. "Ave Maria" – 5:01
6. "From "Ayrshire" - Largo, molto rubato" - 5:32
7. "From "Ayrshire" - Like a Very Fast Reel" – 1:37

References

1. Nicola Benedetti: from prodigy to professional by Tim Cornwell (The Scotsman, Wed 10 May 2006) - The album also includes a new piece by the Scottish composer and conductor James MacMillan, entitled From Ayrshire. "His ear for orchestration is incredible", she says, "but he's actually writing for the violin, and the different effects that you can create on the violin. "It all works and feels very natural to do, but it's not like anything else I have done." After MacMillan was approached to write a piece, she expected an answer "maybe in five years' time". But, to her astonishment, he immediately said yes. The first, more lyrical, section of the piece is inspired by a Burns song, Ca' the Yowes to the Knowes. The second part is more like a reel.
2. Nicola Benedetti Plays the Mendelssohn (IONARTS, 11.12.06) - The rest of the program is a series of inconsequential miniatures -- some pretty Mozart, two Schubert arrangements (including a saccharine Ave Maria with harp accompaniment), and a piece composed for Benedetti by the talented Scottish composer James MacMillan -- all of which, except the last, feel like padding.