DESCRIPTION:
Ole Borneman Bull - from Polacca Guerriera
Arve Tellefsen (violin), Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, Eivind Aadland (conductor)

Norwegian violinist Ole Bull has received less attention than the other composer-virtuosi of the 19th century. Perhaps because a good portion of his activity took place in the United States, where less of a historical perspective on 19th century music-making has developed among performers. Bull was Norway's first real celebrity, and as a virtuoso he was something of a rock star, playing on the emotions of crowds in a way Sarasate, for example, did not.

The Polacca Guerriera has been orchestrated by Harald Heide and arranged for violin by Arve Tellefsen but its ceremonial brass and ripe, flashy Paganinian rhetoric attests to the influence. Tellefsen plays it as if he believes every note – as he must.