Naxos Offers Violin Concertos of Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Franz Berwald & Antonio Vivaldi

[Classics Online Exclusive: The Violin Concerto Collection; Saint-Georges Violin Concertos, Vol. 2; Qian Zhou, Violin; Toronto Camerata; Kevin Mallon, Conductor; Naxos 8.557322 (2004)]

Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745-1799) is profiled at AfriClassical.com.  To our knowledsge, the only budget CDs of his music are the two Naxos recordings of his Violin Concertos. ClassicsOnline.com is presently offering a Naxos MP3 download of three violin concertos, one each by Franz Berwald, Antonio Vivaldi and Le Chevalier de Saint-Georges for 6.99 US.  We are delighted by this recognition for the Concerto No. 10 in G Major (24:07) of Saint-Georges. The work is drawn from Saint-Georges Violin Concertos, Vol. 2; Qian Zhou, Violin; Toronto Camerata; Kevin Mallon, Conductor; Naxos 8.557322 (2004). The download offer is: “ClassicsOnline Exclusive: The Violin Concerto Collection”.

On MusicWeb-International.com, Patrick C. Waller writes, in part, of the CD from which the Saint-Georges Violin Concerto is taken: “For me, No. 10 is the pick of the bunch but they are all most attractive works. The Chinese violinist, Qian Zhou, is no more familiar to me than the composer was but, again, I was impressed.” “She produces beautiful tone and her playing of these concertos is most cultured. There is excellent support from the Toronto Camarata under Kevin Mallon and they are very naturally recorded. Add to this a high standard of presentation and the low cost, and just what are you waiting for? I’m off to check out the first disc in the series (played by different forces) which somehow seems to have passed me by. Naxos have done it again – this label is 'Jack of all kinds of interesting music you’ve never heard before' and master of the irresistible bargain.”