World Music

Contents: Sehidski rastanak (A hero’s farewell) * Moj dilbere! (My cavalier!) * Ne silazi sa...

A set of seven pieces inspired by the photography of Martin Chambi.

In February 2005, the Music Sales Group presented a concert of violin music at the Wigmore Hall in London to launch the Wigmore Hall New Music Fund, set up to promote the commissioning and performance of new works for the important international recital venue. This title contains works from that performance by fourteen of the very best contemporary composers, including Philip Glass, Kaija Saariaho and Peter Maxwell Davies, as well as world premieres from Joby Talbot, Craig Armstrong, John Tavener and Judith Weir. The pieces in this book have been specially selected for their accessibility, making this folio suitable for players of a wide range of abilities from elementary level (1st to 3rd position only) to shorter but more challenging, adventurous and unusual works. The set as a whole represents the large amount of variety and character alive in today's top-level compositions. An excellent repertoire source that is fresh, exciting and highly accessible.

Classical music in Spain underwent a resurgence in the mid-nineteeth century, and the nationalistic emphasis of the Romantic era certainly provided fertile ground for the use of the unique sounds of the Iberian Peninsula. In the realm of violin music, Pablo de Sarasate's compositions revealed Romantic Spain to much of the world and were inspirations for many other composers' violin works in the same vein. Eric Wen's compilation "The Spanish Album" is a great representative survey of this trend. His foreword provides a lively and informative background for the pieces and composers in the book.