Over Liza Ferschtman’s uitvoering van Serenade after Plato’s “Symposium” van Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) in Dallas met Jaap van Zweden schreef de New York Times: with Dutch violinist Liza Ferschtman bringing refined beauty and character to the solo part of the Bernstein [Serenade] …the concert was nothing short of revelatory". Deze Serenade is gebaseerd op Plato’s Symposium. In deze filosofische tekst zetten Griekse wijsgeren hun ideeën over de liefde uiteen. Lisa was verbijsterd toen zij het werk voor het eerst hoorde. De eigenheid, de expressie, de variatie in kleuren, de ongelooflijke orkestratie. Niet voor niets was de uitvoering in Dallas een openbaring. Met dit enthousiasme is ook deze live uitvoering met Het Gelders Orkest opgenomen. Het programma opent met het Vioolconcert van Erich Korngold. Dit laat romantische werk is gevuld met prachtige filmmelodieën. Het Vioolconcert van Korngold voert Liza Ferschtman uit met Prague Symphony Orchestra onder leiding van Jirí Malát. Wederom een prachtig album van Liza Ferschtman dat je niet mag missen.
Korngold: Violin Concerto and Bernstein: Symposium
Liza Ferschtman (violin)
Prague Symphony Orchestra, Het Gelders Orkest, Jiri Malat, Christian Vasquez
Korngold’s Violin Concerto was completed in 1945. This is a beautiful, late Romantic work that harks back clearly to Korngold's earlier compositional style, when he was a younger man living in Vienna. But had he really turned his back on film music he was used to compose in America? Every movement of the Concerto is scattered with fragments from a range of his film scores. The Violin Concerto was a huge success at its premiere, not least due to the performance by Jascha Heifetz as soloist.
The 1950s, a period when Korngold's career and indeed his life were drawing to a close, were a most productive time for Leonard Bernstein. He was achieving major successes on Broadway with his musicals.
The Serenade for violin, strings, harp and percussion had its premiere in Venice in 1954. There were two factors behind the composition. He had accepted a commission from the Koussevitzky Foundation. Also, he had long been promising a new piece for his close friend, the violinist Isaac Stern. Both of these commitments coincided in the Serenade, an extremely lyrical, five-movement work, akin to a violin concerto.
Dutch violinist Liza Ferschtman is known for her passionate performances, interesting programs and communicative qualities on stage. The daughter of Russian musicians, Liza Ferschtman grew up constantly surrounded by music. One of her earliest major influences was the violinist Philipp Hirschhorn, a close family friend. She received her formal training from Herman Krebbers at the Amsterdam Conservatory, Ida Kavafian at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia and David Takeno in London. In 2006 she received the highest accolade awarded to a musician in the Netherlands, the Dutch Music Award.
Liza Ferschtman's worldwide appearances include: BBC National Orchestra of Wales and London Philharmonic, Dallas and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras, Essen Philharmonic, Staatskapelle Weimar and Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra, Orchestre National de Belgique and Flanders Symphony Orchestra, Radio Symphony Orchestra of Prague, Malmö Symphony and Bergen Philharmonic, Yomiuri Nippon Orchestra, Malaysian Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic as well as virtually every Dutch orchestra, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Rotterdam Philhamonic. Amongst the Conductors with whom she has worked are: Stefan Blunier, Frans Brüggen, Christoph von Dohnányi, Claus Peter Flor, Neeme Järvi, Yakov Kreizberg, Zdeněk Macál, Jun Märkl, Gianandrea Noseda, Marc Soustrot, Leonard Slatkin, Thomas Søndergård, Karl-Heinz Steffens, Mario Venzago, Jan Willem de Vriend and Jaap van Zweden.
An avid chamber musician, Liza Ferschtman has collaborated regularly with artists such as Jonathan Biss, Nobuko Imai, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Christian Poltera, Lars Anders Tomter and Alisa Weilerstein, counting as her duo partners Enrico Pace and Inon Barnatan. Appearing at venues such as Alice Tully Hall (New York), Wigmore Hall (London), Musikverein (Vienna), Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Liederhalle (Stuttgart) and Beethoven Haus (Bonn), she is also present at major international Chamber Music festivals. Moreover, Ms. Ferschtman has been the artistic director of the Delft Chamber Music Festival since 2007, one of the most admired festivals in the Netherlands.
Recent highlights have been the performance of Bach's complete solo works in Amsterdam and a concert tour with the Budapest Festival Orchestra under Iván Fischer of which The New York Times wrote: "…with Dutch violinist Liza Ferschtman bringing refined beauty and character to the solo part of the Bernstein [Serenade] …the concert was nothing short of revelatory". In 2015/16 she will be looking forward to concerts with the Residentie Orkest The Hague, the Nuremberg Symphony, Staatskapelle Weimar, and Bremen Philharmonic. She will further perform a tour with the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra through Germany. Chamber music projects with different partners take her to the Schumannfest Düsseldorf, to Utrecht, Amsterdam and the Norwegian Risør Festival.
Liza Ferschtman's recording of the Beethoven Concerto and Romances was received with great critical acclaim, as were other recordings with concertos by Dvořák and Röntgen, solo works by Bach and Ysaÿe (STRAD CD choice of the month), and duo works by Beethoven and Schubert. Her latest CD features solo works by Bach, Biber, Bartók and Berio (Challenge Classics).
