Zino Francescatti
Though indeed of Italian background, violinist Zino Francescatti was a Frenchman, born in Marseilles in 1902. His real name was René-Charles Francescatti. Both his parents played the violin, and his father René had been a student of Paganini. The younger Francescatti performed the Paganini Violin Concerto No. 1 at his official Paris debut in 1925.
By that time Francescatti was already an experienced performer. He gave his first concert at age 5 and played the Beethoven violin concerto at 10. From his late teens he concertized regularly, and after arriving in Paris in 1924 he formed a duo with none less than Maurice Ravel and embarked on an international tour. In the 1920s and 1930s Francescatti toured the globe, although his U.S. debut didn't come until 1939, once again with the Paganini Concerto No. 1, in a New York Philharmonic concert.
Despite his fondness for Paganini, Francescatti was more identified with elegant, natural-seeming playing than with sheer virtuoso fireworks. Later in life he toured and recorded with the similarly fluid French pianist Robert Casadesus in duo repertory; they recorded a complete set of Beethoven's violin and piano sonatas, lyrical works ideally suited to their combined styles. Living in New York but often returning to France to perform and teach, Francescatti made durable recordings of several major repertory works, including the Beethoven concerto with conductor Bruno Walter and the Columbia Symphony Orchestra. Francescatti retired in 1976, moved back to France, and sold his prized Stradivarius instrument to Salvatore Accardo. In 1987 he used part of the proceeds to establish an educational foundation and a violin competition in the city of Aix-en-Provence.
Despite the deep-rooted European traditions exemplified in his playing, Francescatti's memory has not been particularly well served by reissue houses. An exception, however, is the Bridge release An Evening of Paganini (Great Performances from The Library of Congress, Vol. 17), which won a Best Recording of the Year award from Fanfare magazine. The disc presents a 1954 Paganini recital Francescatti gave with pianist Artur Balsam. The Zino Francescatti in Performance two-disc set released by the Music & Arts label offers Francescatti concerto performances from the 1940s and 1950s with various orchestras. Some of his original concerto recordings on the Columbia label have been reissued as part of the Sony Masterworks Heritage series.
© TiVo
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Brahms: Orchestral Works
Zino Francescatti, Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy
Classical - Released by Biddulph Recordings on 6 Nov 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven & Sibelius: Violin Concertos
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 1 Jan 1960
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
An Evening of Paganini (Live)
Zino Francescatti, Artur Balsam
Chamber Music - Released by Bridge Records on 1 Jun 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Orchestral Works
Zino Francescatti, Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Jean Morel, Eugene Ormandy
Classical - Released by Biddulph Recordings on 31 Dec 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Milestones of a Legend - Zino Francescatti, Vol. 4
Classical - Released by Documents 2 on 9 Dec 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Concerto n.4 in re maggiore per violino e orchestra KV 218
Zino Francescatti, Bruno Walter, Columbia Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by La Bambolina sas on 23 Mar 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lyrinx Archives (1958·61·75) Zino Francescatti, New York, Dec. 16, 1975: The Last Performance
Zino Francescatti, New York Philharmonic, Pierre Boulez, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Manuel Rosenthal
Concertos - Released by Lyrinx on 16 Dec 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto in E Minor, Op.64
Zino Francescatti, Dimitri Mitropoulos, New York Philharmonic
Classical - Released by Classically on 26 Mar 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D Major, Op.35
Zino Francescatti, Dimitri Mitropoulos, New York Philharmonic
Classical - Released by Classically on 26 Mar 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Romances pour violon et orchestre Nos. 1 & 2 (Mono Version)
Zino Francescatti, Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Jean Morel
Classical - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1955
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel: Œuvres pour violon et piano (Mono Version)
Zino Francescatti, Artur Balsam
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1958
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Sonates pour violon et piano Nos. 2 & 10 (Mono Version)
Zino Francescatti, Robert Casadesus
Miscellaneous - Released by BNF Collection on 1 Jan 1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Master of Music, Paganini - Violin Concerto No. 1, Op. 6, Violin Concerto No. 2, Op. 7
Zino Francescatti, Yehudi Menuhin, Eugene Ormandy, Anatole Fistoulari, Philadelphia Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Oscardigital on 21 Jul 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Milestones of a Legend - Zino Francescatti, Vol. 5
Classical - Released by Documents 2 on 9 Dec 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Master of Music, Paganini - Violin Concerto No. 1 & No. 2
Zino Francescatti, Yehudi Menuhin, Eugene Ormandy, Philadelphia Orchestra
Classical - Released by Oscardigital on 18 Aug 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
La fête à Stradivarius
Christian Ferras, Ida Haendel, Zino Francescatti, Gioconda De Vito
Classical - Released by Tahra on 24 Sep 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Sonates for piano and violin
Zino Francescatti, Robert Casadesus
Chamber Music - Released by MVE on 10 Apr 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Sonates pour piano et violon
Zino Francescatti, Robert Casadesus
Chamber Music - Released by MVE on 10 Apr 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Prokofiev: Violin Concerto No.2 in G Minor, Op.63
Zino Francescatti, George Szell, Columbia Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Classically on 26 Mar 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Saint-Saëns: Violin Concerto No.3 in B minor, Op. 61
Zino Francescatti, Dimitri Mitropoulos, New York Philharmonic
Classical - Released by Classically on 28 Mar 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Paganini: Violin Concerto No.1, Op. 6
Zino Francescatti, Dimitri Mitropoulos, New York Philharmonic
Classical - Released by Classically on 28 Mar 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo