Ernest Bloch is a lesser-known composer from the first half of the 20th Century and is fondly
remembered by string players, for whom he wrote numerous wonderful pieces. Born in Geneva
in 1880, he studied music at the Brussels Conservatory, which included violin lessons with the
legendary Eugène Ysayë. Some of his early teaching positions include Mannes School of Music,
where in 1917 he became its first teacher of composition, and the Cleveland Institute of Music,
becoming its founding Director in 1920. Eventually, he became a professor at the University of
California-Berkeley, from which he retired in 1952.
Bloch’s music is at once modern and accessible and often reflects his Jewish heritage. Indeed,
he believed the only way he could produce music of vitality and significance was to express that
identity. Two of his most famous and oft-performed pieces are Schelomo, a rhapsody for cello
and orchestra, and Suite Hébraïque, for viola and piano.
The Concerto Grosso No. 1 is scored for string orchestra with a piano obbligato and was
composed in 1925 as Bloch was finishing up his directorship at the Cleveland Institute. Belarusian State Chamber Orchestra
(former Minsk Chamber Orchestra)
Evgeny Bushkov, сonductor
Recorded live at the Belarusian State Philharmonic Grand Concert Hall
November, 2022
6 окт 2024
