Operas served as a source of inspiration and thematic plunder to many of the great composers from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, including Beethoven, Chopin, and Liszt. Wieniawski would write several works based on operatic themes, including Fantasia on a Theme from Meyerbeer's Le Prophéte and Fantasia on a Theme from Grétry's Richard the Lionhearted. The 1859 Gounod opera Faust was making its way across European stages in the early 1860s and after Wieniawski attended a performance of it, he was moved to fashion this colorful work, which, at around 15 minutes, is among his largest compositions for violin and orchestra, with only the two concertos of significantly greater length. The work opens with the orchestra playing the dark theme heard at the outset of the first scene following the introduction. The violin enters and soon plays a lovely rendition of the famous theme from the Valentin's aria, O sainte medaille. In the opera, of course, this is sung by a baritone, but Wieniawski deftly adapts the melody to the lower and middle ranges of the violin, imparting a sweeter sense to the music. Other Faust themes appear throughout this work, including that of the violin solo in the "Garden Scene." As is generally the case with most fantasy pieces based on stage works, there is a good measure of virtuosic writing here. The most demanding passages come in the latter part, where Wieniawski imparts color and grace to the bravura, crowning this minor gem with a dazzling ending.
(AllMusic)
Please take note that the audio AND sheet music ARE NOT mine. Feel free to change the video quality to a minimum of 480p for the best watching experience.
Original audio: Kevin Zhu (violin), Rohan de Silva (piano)
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Original sheet music: imslp.org/wiki/Fantasia_on_Themes_from_%27Faust%27,_Op.20_(Wieniawski,_Henri)
