When one thinks of Schumann, his piano works and Lieder come to mind, as well as the Piano and Cello Concertos and his symphonies. His chamber music has received rather less attention, although he showed himself particularly interested in experimentation in these works, both with regard to form and to instrumentation. With the present recording, OehmsClassics is proud to present a production with the young, up-and-coming violinist Iskandar Widjaja and the designated Principal Conductor of the Berlin Konzerthaus Orchestra, Christoph Eschenbach. Iskandar Widjaja is considered one of the most interesting violinists of the younger generation. The "versatility of his style, his musical presentation with highly varied tonal nuances and facets together with a flawless technique and enormous charisma" (Mo. C. Eschenbach) are praised by colleagues as well as the media. Iskandar Widjaja plays the Stradivari "Willemotte" of 1734, on kind loan from Florian Leonhard, London, as well as a Stradivari replica by Scott Cao built in 2013.

The violin sonatas of Joaquin Turina have in recent years attracted the attention of violinists looking for attractive Spanish repertoire beyond Sarasate, but this complete survey is unrivalled on disc. The real discovery for many listeners will be Turina’s Op.28, El Poema de una sanluqueña (Poem of a Sanlúcar Girl). This 20-minute, four-movement fantasy was written in 1923 and inspired by a cruel remark overheard by the composer: ‘Sanlúcar girls don’t marry and Sanlúcar boys marry outsiders’ – Sanlúcar being a coastal city just north of Cadiz. Turina’s idea was to immerse himself in the hopes and dreams of such a young woman. The movement titles - ‘In front of the mirror’ – ‘The Song of the Moon’ – ‘Hallucinations’ – ‘The Rosary in the Church’ – hint at the varied expressive and musical worlds, including oblique references to Andalucian folksong as well as highly impressionistic evocations that owe not a little to Ravel and Debussy. The Variaciones Clásicas of 1932 show another, more formally rigorous side to Turina’s craft as a composer, though the theme itself is no less imbued with a Romantic, yearning quality through its transformation as a Cuban folksong, a seguidilla and finally a dashing zapateado. The last two pieces of the collection appear as occasional pieces that are included in broader cycles. Euterpe is part of an ambitious work that seeks to represent the coming of the Greek muses to Spain, each of the them being represented by a different scoring: this is written in the lively tempo of a Sevillan dance. Finally, with Homenage a Navarra, Turina elegantly acknowledges the heritage of Sarasate in a short work based on his compatriot’s melodies.

On this new release, violinist Judith Ingolfsson and pianist Vladimir Stoupel present a lovely program of works by Poulenc, Ferroud, and Ravel. Judith Ingolfsson and Vladimir Stoupel are both soloists with strong profiles, who search passionately for new paths in the intimate atmosphere of the chamber music recital. Their dedication and musical curiosity leads to performances and recordings of repertoire ranging from the traditional to the unjustly forgotten or neglected. With a special focus on music of the 20th Century, the Duo Ingolfsson-Stoupel presents dynamic programs that explore the countless fascinating connections between composers, history and the power of musical communication. A recent world premiere performance of the Sonata for Violin and Piano by Paul Arma at the Konzerthaus Berlin was hailed as the “sensation of the evening” by Deutschlandfunk - “there was an intensity in the performance that no one in the audience could escape."

After his debut solo album with music by Bach, Bart�k and Boulez, Michael Barenboim's second album is also dedicated to works for solo violin and features compositions by Salvatore Sciarrino, Giuseppe Tartini, Luciano Berio, and Niccol� Paganini, sketching a short history of Italian solo violin literature. The four works seem very heterogenous at first glance but what unites them is their rich technical and stylistic spectrum. The juxtaposition of traditional and contemporary music works creates an inimitable sound cosmos and makes the works by Tartini and Paganini sound incredibly modern alongside 20th-century music. Michael Barenboim creatively navigates the sometimes obsessive and diabolical elements of the works and creates an inspired and unique interpretation. This release was recorded at the Jesus-Christus-Kirche Berlin in June, 2017.

In 2012 a great virtuoso, the Russian violinist Andrey Baranov, won the Queen Elisabeth Competition of Belgium. Although a soloist of the first rank, he is also passionately fond of chamber music; first violin of the David Oistrakh Quartet he founded in 2012, he also plays with his sister, the pianist Maria Baranova. Together they explore in this first album a broad, cosmopolitan repertory from several centuries, in which the virtuosity of the language of the violin is amplified by the technical evolution that blossomed in the late 18th century and by the emotion that different composers sought to put into music. The Russian repertory predominates in this recording with the famous Vocalise of Rachmaninov as well as three works of Tchaikovsky, all composed within three years of each other. In the French repertory, two composers with quite similar musical styles and ideas are on the programme: Maurice Ravel with his highly daunting concert rhapsody Tzigane and Claude Debussy with his tender Clair de Lune. The programme, however, begins in Italy with two emblematic representatives of the virtuoso violin, Tartini and Paganini. Baranov shows himself to be inspired in all these works that constitute the zenith of the virtuoso repertory and his irreproachable technique is always at the service of a violin that sings and will stir every listener.

Frank Peter Zimmermann is widely regarded as one of the foremost violinists of his generation. He has been performing with all major orchestras in the world, among which are the Berliner Philharmoniker with whom he made his debut in 1985 with Daniel Barenboim; the Wiener Philharmoniker with whom he played first time in 1983 with Lorin Maazel in Salzburg; the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, all London orchestras, as well as all big American orchestras. Frank Peter Zimmermann is a regular guest at all major music festivals, including Salzburg, Edinburgh and Lucerne.Over the years Frank Peter Zimmermann has built up an impressive discography, and has recorded virtually all major concerto repertoire. On this new release, he focuses on the original and reconstructed violin concertos of J. S. Bach. He plays on the 1711 Antonius Stradivari violin “Lady Inchiquin,” which is kindly provided by the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Dusseldorf, “Kunst im Landesbesitz.”

After two productions with chamber music, Stefan Tarara now presents his debut album as a soloist on Ars Produktion. The young Heidelberg violinist interprets Eugène Ysaÿe's Six Sonatas Op.27 for violin solo on a Stradivari from 1721. Each of these pieces is dedicated to a certain famous violinist, e.g. George Enescu, Fritz Kreisler or Joseph Szigeti, and is composed in a corresponding style. Stefan Tarara was born into a musical family in Heidelberg, Germany in 1986 and made his stage debut at the age of four. After earning his baccalaureate in Heidelberg in 2006, Tarara completed his Diploma (2010), an MA in Specialized Music Performance (2012) and an MA in Pedagogy (2015) in the class of Zakhar Bron at the University of Arts in Zurich, Switzerland. Due to his successes at international music competitions, Tarara was named Musician of the Year in 2008 and 2010 by the German music journal Neue Musikzeitung. Tarara has a keen interest in contemporary music. In addition to performing numerous premieres, Tarara won the Interpretation Prize for his performance of Massimo Lauricella’s work “Kairos” at the International Premio Paganini Competition in 2010.

Dmitry Shostakovich’s succinctly composed and highly distinctive 24 Preludes have proved their popularity in numerous arrangements, but when the composer heard these transcriptions by Smitry Tsyganov he declared that ‘I forgot they were originally written for piano, so naturally did they sound.’ The set was completed in 2000 by the Russian-born composer and pianist Lera Auerbach. These often whimsical and ironic Preludes contrast greatly with the chilling and profound Violin Sonata, a late work that concludes with Shostakovich’s last ever use of passacaglia form.

The first joint recording of Estonian artists' siblings, Mari and Mihkela Poll presents a magnificent panorama of twentieth century violin music accompanied by a piano. Mari, the world-class violinist, performs George III Enescu's violin sonata - a reflection of the composer's multicultural experience, who grew up surrounded by Romanian and Slavic folklore, and played violin lessons from gypsy musicians. We will also hear in the tragic and mournful mood of the violin Sonata composed in the years of World War II by Francis Poulenc and the sophisticated Fantasy for Violin and Piano , Arnold Schoenberg's last instrumental work. Finally, we will get acquainted with the very interesting work of Erkki-Sven Tüüra, a contemporary Estonian composer. The publishing house was founded with the support of: City Music Foundation in London and JKM Princess Yugoslavia Elżbieta.

Karolina Piatkowska-Nowicka and Bogna Czerwinska-Szymula, highly valued instrumentalists and chamber musicians, present three pieces sharing not only the instruments (violin and piano) for which they are written. The pieces presented on the release grow from a common root: their authors - Grazyna Bacewicz, Aleksander Tansman and Krzysztof Penderecki - belong to the most outstanding Polish composers of the 20th century. They also share the cyclical manner of shaping the piece, yet the approach towards this issue differs among the composers. The extremely varied in terms of emotion Sonata No. 4 for Violin and Piano by Bacewicz reveals neo-romantic features; neoclassical Faintaisie for Violin and Piano by Tansman astonishes with its care for sound colour, whereas monumental Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano by Penderecki intrigues with the musical language which, based on the twelve-note scale, treats it in a melodic and harmonic manner.

This new release from BBC Radio 3 and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra led by Grant Llewellyn features Violin Concertos by exclusively British composers, including Paul Patterson, Kenneth Leighton, and Gordon Jacob. The featured soloist in these works is violinist Clare Howick. Described by The Strad as “playing with beguiling warmth and affection” and by American Record Guide as “simply spectacular”, Clare Howick is at the forefront of a generation of inspiring violinists. As a champion of new music, Clare has premiered many new works, both on disc and in performance. She recently gave the world premiere performance at St John’s Smith Square of Violin Concerto No.2 ('Serenade') by Paul Patterson, a song-like, wistful and exuberantly sparkling work, which was specially written for her. This is the piece’s world premiere recording.

The German violinist Friedrich Seitz was born in Günthersleben near Gotha in 1848 and died in Dessau in 1918. He served as a conductor in Sondershausen, where he had studied, as concert-master in Magdeburg and from 1884 as Court Concert-Master in Dessau. He was particularly active as a teacher, and is remembered for his Schülerkonzerte, teaching concertos, which introduce pupils to something of nineteenth-century concerto technique and remain a part of teaching repertoire. On this new release, violinist Hyejin Chung and pianist Warren Lee explore his five Concertos for Violin and Piano- by far his most successful works. Hyejin Chung studied with Takako Nishizaki at the Academy for Performing Arts in Hong Kong and graduated with an Advanced Certificate in violin performance. Subsequently she went to Russia and studied with S.I. Kravchenko, a student and assistant of Leonid Kogan, at the Moscow State Conservatory. After settling in Hong Kong, she focused on playing chamber music and teaching advanced students at the Takako Nishizaki Violin Studio. This is her second recording for Naxos.

Gara Garayev was the leading Azerbaijani composer of the twentieth century. His music fuses the western traditions exemplified by his teacher Shostakovich an the classical and folk heritage of his homeland. The two works recorded here illustrate Garayev’s stylistic range: his Violin Sonata (1960) is Neoclssical in manner, whereas the 24 Preludes (1951-63) combine influences from the Russian piano school (not least Prokofiev) with elements from Azeri modes and the rhythms of Arabic-Persian lyric poetry. This recording introduces the stellar violinist Vadim Repin to the Toccata Classics label. The presentation includes a bonus video of the film Sonates d’automne, shot during the recording of this album.

Michael Alec Rose is a leading light in the contemporary music world with compositions in many genres. He has received thirty composition awards to date, and is also an author of books and essays. He currently teaches at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. This album contains music for violin-viola duo and for solo violin, which is both gently modernist and also post-impressionist – music inspired by places (for example Dartmoor in England) and by paintings. The soloists are both highly regarded both in their native England and internationally. Skærved is well represented in many recordings as soloist and as leader of Longbow Ensemble and the Kreutzer Quartet and has made over 60 albums for Divine Art/Metier as well as Toccata, NMC, Naxos and other labels. He has given concerts in over 30 countries, has had over 400 works dedicated to him and is also an accomplished painter and writer. Violist Diana Mathews is sought after as soloist, chamber and orchestral player and is very active in the new music world.

Following Sergei Prokofiev's works for violin and piano, Franziska Pietsch now presents an album featuring both Violin Concertos of the Russian composer, with whose oeuvre and idiom the artist - a former promising star of the GDR - has felt at home ever since her youth. Alongside Cristian Macelaru and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin she presents a thrilling new recording. The two violin concertos represent two phases in, and two sides of, Prokofiev's life and work. The first was written during an era of early successes, stylistically and temporally close to his Symphonie classique, but not premiered until he was in exile. The second mirrors the itinerant existence of his life as a musician in exile, but also his longing to return to Russia. Franziska Pietsch, the "Anne-Sophie Mutter of East Germany" (W. Dulisch). From promising star of the GDR with a burgeoning solo career to boycott, via a new beginning, chamber music and leading orchestras, back to being a soloist and enriched by a transformed understanding of her own role: with this recording of the Prokofiev Violin Concertos, Franziska Pietsch has come full circle. Thanks to her intensive engagement with chamber music and her experience as a concertmaster, Franziska Pietsch's performances as a soloist are not only world-class, but also characterised by an exceptional sense of chamber-like intimacy.