Henri Merckel Plays the Music Of Jean Rivier – 1954 – Past Daily Weekend Gramophone
Henri Merckel – not one to shy away from a challenge. In this case it was Rivier.
Click on the link here for Audio Player: Rivier – Violin Concerto
Back over to Paris this week for a radio performance of Jean Rivier‘s Violin Concerto, as played by violinist Henri Merckel with The French Radio Symphony Conducted by Pierre-Michel LeConte.
The Rivier Violin Concerto dates from 1942, and it’s my somewhat hackneyed guess that this performance comes from 1953 or 1954, or possibly earlier.
In either case, it’s a rare broadcast performance of a neglected work by a composer not all that familiar to a lot of listeners, as performed by one of the great violinists of the 20th Century.
If you don’t believe me, hit the Play button.
Rivier is definitly one the most neglegted French composers. A pity ! His 7 symphonies are milestones in French repertoire. THX so much for letting us know this Violin Cto: without this document, that work would be totally forgotten !!!!!
As always, my pleasure. And I will keep posting these as long as there is support. So tell your friends. I need to find a good source for photos of French musicians and composers. If you know of one . . .