Fabio Biondi has chosen a selection of delightful virtuoso chamber music pieces by Niccolò Paganini to mark his tenth album for Glossa. Together with his long-term colleague from Europa Galante, the plucked-string specialist Giangiacomo Pinardi (here playing an original romantic guitar from c1825), Biondi delivers one of the most special Glossa albums of recent times. The works, composed between 1804 and c1828, are mainly two-movement sonatas contained in the Centone di sonate collection, although the album also includes the popular Sonata concertata in A major. Recorded in Valencia by the engineer and producer Fabio Framba (another well-known component of Biondi’s recording setups), the booklet of this album includes a highly original essay signed by Pierre Élie Mamou, in which he looks into the Devil/God dichotomy as applied to the figure of Paganini by his own contemporaries. The graphic design for the album takes its inspiration from this idea, for another typically Glossa look, listen and read experience…

The Italian composers of the Baroque, led by Antonio Vivaldi, often honored the small instruments of the lute family in their rich compositional oeuvres. At the time these instruments with a fourth-third tuning were known by names, for example, as the leuto, leutino, mandola, or mandolla. Today the small lute is uniformly termed the “Baroque mandolin” and more rarely the “soprano lute.” The number of composers who wrote attractive works for the mandolin documents the fact that it was then a much-played instrument that musical audiences liked to hear. Accordingly, this new recording brings together concertos, trios, and sonatas by Carlo Arrigoni, Johann Adolf Hasse, Ranieri Capponi, and – of course – Vivaldi. What is particularly surprising here is the so very homogeneous sound of the dialogue between the Baroque mandolin and the Baroque violin – since they are two very different instruments in the field of tonal production. The tonal beauty of both solo parts, with one duo partner supporting the other with accompanying broken chords, produces a captivating effect in the second movement of Vivaldi’s Concerto RV 548. The magic of the fascinating tonal idiom of the mandolin and violin duo makes us wish that this rediscovered version will find many delighted listeners. Anna Torge, our soloist on the Baroque mandolin (six courses), has made a name for herself as one of the leading virtuosos on this instrument.

The sonatas recorded here encompass almost the entirety of Hans Werner Henze’s creative life. Composed in difficult conditions just after WWII, the Violin Sonata covers the broadest range of human emotions, and is in some ways a study for the extraordinary First Violin Concerto. Steeped in Italian mythology, the Solo Violin Sonata is ‘a real piece of theatre,’ as is the emotionally shattering Viola Sonata, written straight after the completion of the ballet Orpheus. The Violin Sonatina is drawn from Henze’s children’s opera Pollicino, and the two remaining miniatures are memorials for lost colleagues. Internationally acclaimed violin virtuoso Peter Sheppard Skaerved’s close connection with Hans Werner Henze is well recognized, and this release follows on from his recordings of Henze’s First and Third Violin Concertos “having some seriously emotional meat on the bones of this traditional form” (MusicWeb International), and the Second Violin Concerto summed up as “a superb [album]… highly recommended” by Gramophone. This is the first recording to bring together Henze’s solo sonatas for violin and viola, as well as the early Violin Sonata and later Violin Sonatina. Peter Sheppard Skaerved recorded the composers revised 1992 version of the Solo Violin Sonata on the Metier label in 2000, but returns to the 1977 original for this recording, completing a deal with the composer to “see who is right!”

In 1805, on the basis of his brilliant yet expressive playing, the 21-year-old Louis Spohr was appointed Konzertmeister at the ducal court in Gotha. By this time he had also begun to make his mark as a composer, and during his years at the court he would add several pieces for the harp to his list of works, inspired by the young harpist Dorette Scheidler. Spohr later recalled his reaction to her playing: ‘I was so deeply moved that I could scarce restrain my tears... I took my leave – but my heart remained behind!’ Only months later, the two were in fact married and Spohr began to compose works which would form the repertoire during future concert tours. Dorette Spohr played a so-called single-action pedal harp of a similar type to the instrument used on this album. Soon to be replaced by the double-action pedal system, the single-action pedal harp was best suited for playing in flat keys. As Spohr preferred writing his violin parts in sharp keys, which allowed the resonance of the open strings, he adopted the method of tuning the harp a semitone lower, which had the added benefit of reducing the tension on the strings. The Sonatas Opp 113-115, in D and G major, therefore have harp parts notated in E flat and A flat major respectively. Because of its delicate construction and stringing, the single-action harp has a distinct silvery bell-like sound and these sonatas are among the last important works specifically written for it. They are also the most demanding, but it is clear that Spohr intended them to display not only the technical skill of the two artists but also their musical expressiveness. The performers here are Masumi Nagasawa and Cecilia Bernardini, who have made a particular study of Spohr's writings on performance practice.

Following his Alpha recording of sonatas by Prokofiev, Ravel and Strauss, the violinist Tobias Feldmann now turns to the concerto form, performing the two major works of the Finnish repertoire for the instrument: the violin concertos of Jean Sibelius and Einojuhani Rautavaara. Premiered in Helsinki in 1904, the Sibelius Concerto proved to be exceptionally difficult technically for the soloist. Sibelius revised his score, but subsequently composed for violin and orchestra only in shorter forms, the serenade and the humoresque. It was not until nearly seventy years later that a Finnish composer wrote another large-scale work for violin and orchestra, with the Concerto of Rautavaara, which in all respects equals the degree of virtuosity demanded by the earlier work.

As a leading virtuoso who premiered Beethoven’s final violin sonata with the Archduke Rudolph, Rode was at the center of European musical life, his compositions sitting at the apex of the French violin school. The final volume in this acclaimed series presents one of his most inspired pieces, the Violin Concerto No. 11 in D major, lyrically expressive and full of good-humored zest. Violin Concerto No. 12 in E major is notable for the ingenious ways in which, through trills, staccato, spiccato and cadenzas, Rode heightens the music’s bravura. Violinist Friedemann Eichhorn studied with Valery Gradow at the University of Music in Mannheim, with Alberto Lysy at the International Menuhim Music Academy in Gstaad, Switzerland, and with Margaret Pardee at The Juilliard School in New York. He performs with many renowned orchestras across the globe, and his previous recordings for Naxos were highly acclaimed.

J. S. Bach, Biber, Marini, Corelli: four leading figures of Baroque music that no one would associate with the harp. However, they worked in environments where there is ample evidence that harpists were active, and where a solo harp repertory certainly existed, even if it was never written down. This ambitious project starts out from that premise, and is the result of in-depth research into original sources. It suggests that the repertory for violin, an instrument that shares many idiomatic features with the harp, was long a source of inspiration for harpists. Hence, here some of the best-known and most virtuosic pieces for the violin have been arranged for harp, giving these compositions a new lease on life and shedding light on new and unexpected nuances and reflections. Flora Papadopoulos, after significant collaborations with ensembles such as Cappella Mediterranea/L. García Alarcón, Concerto Italiano/R. Alessandrini, Matheus/J-C Spinosi and Laboratorio ‘600/F. Pavan, now makes her first solo album. Exploring personal, highly experimental and empirical paths, she revives a fascinating musical practice that has been long lost.

With the violin concertos by Jean Sibelius and Igor Stravinsky, Zhi-Jong Wang and the Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Thomas Sanderling, dedicate themselves to two works from the beginning of the twentieth century. Although the two works were composed only thirty years apart from one another, they could not be any more contrasting: minor against major, dark, mystical and introverted against exciting, suspenseful and sometimes ironic. And yet, in the contrasts of these two concertos, the virtuoso and inspiring interpretation of the Chinese violinist reveals something amazingly unifying. Noticed by Yehudi Menuhin at a young age, Zhi-Jong Wang is considered one of the most promising violinists of her generation and continues to receive increasing international attention. She currently studies with Maestro Kolja Blacher at the Hochschule fur Musik “Hanns Eisler” Berlin, and holds the position of the youngest faculty member at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.

Edvard Grieg himself established a classification of his three sonatas for violin and piano: the First is naïve and prolix, the Second nationalistic and the Third opens up new horizons. The First Sonata dates from 1865 and was written in Denmark; full of inspired freshness, it is characterized by melodic purity and is ever in song. The Second, composed two years later, corresponds to Grieg’s return to Norway and his marriage; the composer expresses here a honeymoon: there is love and of course dance, the central figure of Grieg’s music. Another 20 years would pass before the Third Sonata was born after a difficult gestation; no doubt the most often played albeit the most demanding, the folklore is secondary to a more adventurous expressive research, to more elaborate harmonies and some uncommon displays of power. The Latvian violinist Vineta Sareika- first violin of the Artemis Quartet- and the French pianist Amandine Savary have been partners on the most prestigious concert platforms, both of them at the time founding members of the Trio Dali. From this friendship was born the desire to continue to make music together. Their respective capacities for listening, their musical complicity shine forth in this performance of a monument of chamber music.

Violinist Antje Weithaas stands for highest musicality, exquisite technique, and fabulous playing and artistry. On this release, she plays the solo part of these works, and also leads the Camerata Bern Orchestra. She explains her own reading of the score which in some cases is different from the “standard” reading: “I wanted to record Tchaikovsky for several reasons. Most importantly, I love Tchaikovsky’s music, particularly the two works featured on this recording. I wanted to coax the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto out of the corner of virtuoso tradition, which it has occupied until now. In certain aspects, an established way of playing it has become somewhat cemented over the last decades. But neither do I see that approach justified in the score, nor does it correspond with my view of Tchaikovsky as a musician and a human being. We all found it thrilling to challenge and question our previous experience with this piece, both as performers and as listeners, and to tackle it as if it was new to us…”

Russian born Violinist Artur Kaganovskiy is one of the greatest violinists of his generation. Born in Moscow, Russia, in 1986, Artur Kaganovskiy started playing the violin at age three and, with guidance from the famed Isaac Stern, he quickly established himself as a leading personality in the violin world. Winner of the Waldo de Mayo International Violin Competition and recipient of the prestigious Fritz Kreisler, H. Gilbert and Joseph Fuchs Awards, Mr. Kaganovskiy is a graduate of The Juilliard School from where he holds a Bachelors and Masters Degree in Violin Performance. On his present release, he presents concertos by Brahms and Tchaikovsky. These are performances that are infused with great passion and warmth.

The fame enjoyed by Virgilio Ranzato, composer, concert performer and appreciated conductor, declined inexorably at the end of the Second World War when only two yet very famous operettas remained in his performed repertoire: "Cin-ci -là", and "Il paese dei campanelli." In fact Ranzato was a prolific and multifaceted musician. He composed symphonic poems, chamber and orchestra music, danceable songs, soundtracks, one opera and twenty operettas, making him one of the most central characters in the musical panorama of the early twentieth century. Paolo Mora and Milo Martani on this album address the vast repertoire the composer dedicated to the duo par excellence of chamber music: the works for violin and piano, delivering an interesting crosssection of the most interesting themes of the musical literature of the time: serenades, prayers, dances, exotic atmospheres, intimate or carefree moments flourishing thanks to the writing of Ranzato, skilfully moving between instrumental virtuosity and the pathos of the crepuscular aura of the beginning of the new century.

Being undoubtedly the most popular Danish violinist ever, Wandy Tworek (1913-1990) was just as at home in the standard classical repertoire as he was in the fiery violinistic acrobatics he entertained his adoring audiences with all over Denmark. From the remarkable authoritative recording of the Bartok solo violin sonata to lollipops of the lighter vein, Wandy, as the Danes knew him, never failed to impress. This is the first comprehensive anthology of his finest and rarest recordings. The present volume features works by Bartok, Wieniawski, Riisager, Franck, and more.

This Brahms album with the internationally acclaimed duo Tasmin Little and Piers Lane will stand as a landmark in their already highly praised discography of romantic chamber music repertoire. Standing amongst the summits of the genre, the three violin sonatas by Brahms, his only ever published ones, are a pure demonstration of radiant effusiveness and romanticism in that they call for great virtuosity as well as empathy from both instruments equally. Although written twenty-five years later, they have their origin in 1853 when Brahms made the acquaintance of the Schumanns and, above all, of the great violinist Joseph Joachim, who would remain one of his closest and most musically influential friends. From the profoundly lyrical Op. 78 and Op. 100 to the more pianistic Op. 108, this recording reveals Brahms at his most intense, poetic, and melodic. Faultless support is delivered by a duo that has now established itself as a major force in romantic repertoire.

Two prominent Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra musicians, concertmaster Gwen Hoebig, and associate concertmaster Karl Stobbe, offer an album rich in emotion and virtuosity. Opus 3 sonatas for two violins, by French composer Jean-Marie Leclair, is an amazing work with lilting pastorals, graceful sarabandes and fiery jigs, and is played admirably by Hoebig and Stobbe. Leclair, considered the father of violin in France, lived a tumultuous life that led to his assassination in 1764. His ex-wife and nephew, each with their own motives that could make them credible suspects, did not confess and the murder was never resolved. Recognized as one of Canada’s most outstanding violinists, Gwen Hoebig is a graduate of the Juilliard School in New York City. As a student she won every major Canadian music competition, and in 1981 was the top prizewinner at the Munich International Violin Competition. Karl Stobbe has made a name for himself as one of Canada’s most accomplished and diverse violinists. In addition to appearing frequently as a concertmaster in Canada and the United States, Karl regularly performs concerti, recitals, and chamber music, where his concerts have been called “a clinic in the art of violin playing” (Winnipeg Free Press, 2013).

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REVIEW:

The duo have technical mastery to spare, with a bright, clear sound and beautifully clean playing. The first and second violin parts are equally important here, with constant interplay and textural depth, and it’s virtually impossible to tell them apart. The hope that these performances go beyond the technical challenges to give a sense of the man who created them is more than fulfilled in an outstanding CD.

– The Whole Note (Canada)