《Melodie from Orfeo ed Euridice》

Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787)

Gluck was an opera composer of the early Classical period. The opera Orfeo ed Euridice is based on the Greek myth of Orpheus, who had a deep love for his wife Eurydice and an overwhelming desire to bring her back to life from Hades. This particular piece was arranged by Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962) , an Austrian-born violinist. Kreisler’s arrangement of the piece is sweet, full of emotion, and very lyrical. He based his arrangement for violin and piano on the orginal melody. The violin melody is hauntingly gorgeous, as it drifts splendidly through the notes while the steady piano accompaniment follows it going from a low-high to a high-low harmonic pattern, which represents the tradegy of the opera. The violinist combines an exquisite technique with an overflowing of emotion, allowing this very brief piece to amply display the breadth, meticulousness and depth of emotion that the violin is capable of expressing.