OPERA FANTASIES FOR VIOLIN (Benjamin Loeb/ Geoff Nuttall/ Livia Sohn/ Norbert Kraft & Bonnie Silver) (Naxos: 8.570202)

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The operatic fantasy, as a vehicle for the display of virtuosity, came into its own in the 19th century, notably with the 'demon violinist' Paganini, whose variations on Rossini's 'I Palpiti' are included here. Later and contemporary composers and musicians have continued the practice of taking themes from operas and presenting them in ever more virtuosic guise. They include Stefan Frenkel whose technically very demanding arrangements of songs from Kurt Weill's 'The Threepenny Opera' provide a dazzling showpiece in the nineteenth-century virtuoso tradition of Paganini and Liszt. The haunting 'Desde mi ventana (From my window)' from Osvaldo Golijov's fusion opera 'Aimnadamar (Fountain of Tears)' is heard in an arrangement for two violins and piano by the composer and Stephen Prutsman.