Lipinski: Violin Concertos Nos. 2, 3 & 4

The Polish Paganini. Once again an extraordinary discovery has been made: Or do you know Karol Lipinski (1790-1861), whom his contemporaries already called the "other Paganini"? Robert Schumann, for example: "Lipinski is here. These three words are quite enough for the music lover to set all his pulses in motion. He who does not know his name may be condemned to the punishment of not having heard the other Paganini." Lipinski was at this time - around 1840 - first concertmaster of the Dresden Chapel, a post he held until his death. Before that, however, he had made a name for himself as a soloist throughout Europe. He was, after all, such good friends with his antipode Paganini, despite their direct rivalry, that they performed double concertos in public. As a composer Lipinski was perhaps not as prolific as Paganini, but musically he goes into greater depth, already moving away from the pure virtuoso concerto. His extended orchestral interludes reveal a familiarity with Weber and Berlioz; he is on the way to Wieniawski. Apart from the 2nd violin concerto, the "Concerto militaire", which probably still belongs in the studies of violinists in Poland from time to time, his works were as good as lost. The wonderful young virtuoso Albrecht Breuninger has now found four concertos and some concerto pieces in the libraries and recorded them for cpo: A must not only for violin fans!