24 July 1880 Genève - 15 July 1969 Portland
„Music, as well as other arts, ought to be an integral part of our lives. Every human being is entitled to share it’s beauty. I hold it of first importance to write good, genuine music, my music.“ Ernest Bloch
Ernest Bloch's own instrument was the violin. He composed a lot of chamber music, especially for strings and piano. His violin sonatas and the two piano quintets continue to enjoy great popularity. This also applies to several works for cello and piano (Shelomo, Méditation Hébraïque), which he originally composed for cello and orchestra. Bloch's most important piano compositions include his Piano Sonata (1935), the Five Sketches in Sepia (1923) and the Visions and Prophecies (1935). His piano music has its own signature: With its enormous richness of colour, it is always a nuanced walk between late romantic, impressionistic and expressionistic elements.
Enjoy the PIANOVERSAL listening tips with music by Ernest Bloch!
PIANOVERSAL listening tips: Ernest Bloch
Piano Quintet No.1 (1923)
The Pro Arte Quartet has championed the music of Ernest Bloch throughout its 100 (!) year history. They first recorded Bloch's Piano Quintet No. 1 in London in 1933, and in a 1991 recording, a later generation of the Pro Arte revisits the work.
soundcloud_Bloch_pianoquintet_1_proarte1991
ProArteQuartet
Norman Paulu (1st violin), Jae Kyung Kim (2nd violin), Richard Blum (viola), Parry Karp (cello), Howard Karp (piano)
Recording: 1991
youtube_Bloch_pianoquintet_historical
Pro Arte String Quartet & Aflredo Casella - piano
Recording: 1931, London (This is a historical recording with limited sound quality)
Piano Sonata (1935)
youtube_Bloch_pianosonata
Zecharia Plavin - Piano
(recording: 1991)
Visions and prophecies (1935)
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Yaltah Menuhin - piano
Concerto Grosso No. 1 for string orchestra with piano obbligato (1925)
youtube_Bloch_concertogrosso1
1. Prelude
2. Dirge
3. Pastorale and Rustic Dances
4. Fugue
Israel Chamber Orchestra; Irit Rob - piano, Yoav Talmi - conductor
Concertino for Flute, Clarinet and Piano (1950)
youtube_Bloch_concertino
Olesia Tertychnaia - flute, Nikita Lutikov - clarinet, Oleg Vainstein - piano
Live St .Petersburg 14.2.2017
(Малый зал Санкт-Петербургской филармонии им. Д.Д.Шостаковича)
In the Night (In der Nacht), a love poem for piano (1922)
youtube_Bloch_In_the_Night
Margaret Fingerhut - piano
Marta Fingerhut made an impressive recording of Ernest Bloch's complete piano music:
spotify_Bloch_pianomusic_fingerhut
Further information about Ernest Bloch:
The "Ernest Bloch Collection" at The Library of Congress
Bloch_collection_library_of_congress
Ernest Bloch Legacy (USA)
www.ernestbloch.org
International Ernest Bloch Society (UK)
ernestblochsociety.org
Association BloCH (Switzerland)
ernestbloch.ch
Browse the PIANOVERSALRegister !
Ernest Bloch: composer of the week No. 18 / May 2018