This is Centaur's second volume in The Opera Fantasies for Violin and Piano by Jean Baptiste Singelee, featuring Thomas wood and Bryan Dykstra. These are wonderful, idiomatic arrangements from the great operas. A Belgian classical composer of the romantic period, Jean-Baptiste Singelee studied at the Royal Conservatoire in Brussels. He was violin soloist at the Theatre Royal de la Monnaie, and directed orchestras both there and in Ghent. He is most known for his contributions to saxophone literature, as well as his vast oeuvre of violin works. Violinist Thomas Wood serves as professor of music at The College of Wooster. He was the first violinist to be awarded the degree Doctor of Musical Arts in Violin Performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He also studied at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. In addition to these recordings featuring Singelee’s works, he is currently writing a book on the opera fantasies of the composer as well.
