George Gershwin (1898-1937)
"Un Américain à Paris" (trans. J. Heifetz)
Extraits de "Porgy and Bess" (trans. J. Heifetz)

Gottfried Huppertz (1887-1937)
Suite, extrait de la Bande Originale du Film "Metropolis" de Fritz Lang

Cecil Burleigh (1885-1980)
"Moto Perpetuo", op. 21 n° 4

Kurt Weill (1900-1959)
"The Ballad of Mack the Knife", extrait de "L'Opéra de quat'sous"
"What Good Would the Moon Be ?", extrait de "Street Scene"

Charles Chaplin (1889-1977)
"The Terry Theme", extrait de la Bande Originale du Film "Les Feux de la rampe"
"The Flower Shop", extrait de la Bande Originale du Film "Les Lumières de la ville"

Ivor Novello (1893-1951)
"The Land of Might-Have-Been" (arr. S. Buck)

Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943)
"Dix-huitième Variation", extrait de la "Rhapsodie sur un thème de Paganini", op. 43 (arr. S. Buck)

Josef Suk (1874-1935)
"Chant d'Amour", op. 7 n° 1 (arr. S. buck)

John Crowther (20e siècle)
"Gweedore Brae" (Air traditionnel irlandais)

Friedrich Hollaender (1896-1976)
"Ich weiss nicht, zu wem ich gehöre" (arr. J. Riihimäki)

Jascha Heifetz (1901-1987)
"When You Make Love to Me (Don't Make Believe)" (arr. S. Buck)

Daniel Röhn, violon
Mario Stefano Pietrodarchi, bandonéon
Württembergisches Kammerorchester Heilbronn
Case Scaglione, direction

Ce disque du violoniste Daniel Röhn évoque l'âge d'or du violon (Les années vingt) à travers la figure de Jascha Heifetz et des compositeurs aussi divers que Gershwin, Rachmaninov, Josef Suk, Friedrich Hollaender et Charlie Chaplin. Quelques standards repris ici par le maestro et passés à la moulinette hollywoodienne c'est à dire remaniés par deux arrangeurs patentés : Stephen Buck et Jarkko Riihimaki. Oublions les versions édulcorées des Gershwin, des Weill, les Chaplin anecdotiques et la suave musique de film (Metropolis) signé Gottfried Huppertz pour nous intéresser à ce trop méconnu John Crowther dont le « Gweedore Brae » (Traditionnel irlandais) nous fait incidemment tirer des larmes. Röhn déroule le « Molto perpetuo » de Cecil Burleigh comme s'il enfilait des perles. Quant au malheureux « Chant d'Amour » de Josef Suk et la seule dix-huitième variation (!) de Rachmaninov, ils présentent ici un intérêt limité, faute d'être réellement incarnés. En bis : un bis d'Heifetz « When you make love to me » dégoulinant à souhait. Un disque qui finalement siérait bien en fond sonore d'une célèbre brasserie new-yorkaise. (Jérôme Angouillant)

The Golden Violin – Music of the 20s is Daniel Röhn's tribute to one of the most prolific cultural eras of recent history. Daniel Röhn brings the jerky flickering images and the high spirited, extravagant hurly-burly to musical life with romantic sounds from Rachmaninoff through the evergreens of Kurt Weill to the jazzy echoes of Gershwin. "That era was a positive melting pot of creativity and inventiveness," explains Röhn. Jazz was emerging. Silent movies were being replaced by the talkies. And while Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse was taking his first steps in 1928, the dream factories in Berlin and Hollywood were doing a roaring trade thanks to Fritz Lang and Charlie Chaplin. The violin virtuoso is focussing on a topic that has recently been in the public eye, not just as a result of popular TV productions. Röhn's personal role model, the patron of violinists Jascha Heifetz, is both the inspiration and the godfather of The Golden Violin. Absolute perfection, paired with unique creative energy and an inimitable touch. "When I was six year old, I could just about (standing on a box on tip-toe) reach Vol. 1 of my father's Heifetz collection. And that volume contained the complete acoustic recordings of 1917-1924, full of straight-to-the-heart arrangements and popular melodies." It is precisely those melodious evergreens that he has now recorded with the Württemberg Chamber Orchestra under its American principal conductor Case Scaglione. Röhn and the WKO are in perfect harmony on this recording. Most of the works were newly arranged especially for this formation. Among them are irresistibly catchy songs loved by generations of music lovers. They include Kurt Weill's "The Ballad of Mack the Knife" from the Threepenny Opera and the sentimental melody "The Land of Might-Have-Been", composed by the English songwriter and entertainer Ivor Novello, who was so popular in the 1920s and 1930s, a song that was revived for the soundtrack to the 2001 Robert Altman film, "Gosford Park". There is also film music from the era: Friedrich Hollaender's "Ich weiss nicht, zu wem ich gehöre", written in 1932 for the film "Storms of Passion" and sung by Marlene Dietrich. And then there are of course songs like "Flower Shop" – from the final scene in "City Lights" (1931), and the theme from "Limelight" (1952) by the man who is associated like no other with the early days of the cinema: Charlie Chaplin.