LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN

 

Complete Violin Sonatas

 

CD 1: Sonatas 1-3 Op. 12 Nos. 1-3

CD 2: Sonata No. 4 Op. 23, No. 5 'Spring' Op. 24, No. 10 Op. 96

CD 3: Sonatas 6-8 Op. 30 Nos 1-3

CD 4 Bonus: Sonata No. 9 'Kreutzer'

 

DVD Making of the recording by Benjamin Krieg and Sonya Schönberger including Allegro moderato, Sonata Op. 96

 

Isabelle Faust - violin

Alexander Melnikov - piano

 

Johann van Beethoven first became aware of his son Ludwig's aptitude for music when the latter was amusing himself by 'scraping at' a violin. After lessons from his father, the boy was also taught by his cousin Franz Rovantini and became a string player of sufficient skill to play the viola in the Bonn opera orchestra from 1789 onwards. Between the ages of 20 and 24 he set down on paper his earliest compositions for violin and keyboard: a sonata in A major that remained unpublished (Hess 46), 12 variations on an aria from Le nozze di Figaro published in 1793 (WoO 40), a rondo in G major written in 1794 but only released to Simrock for publication much later, in 1808 (WoO 41), and six German dances composed in Prague in 1796 for the Countesses Thun (WoO 42). However, these pieces cannot rival the ten sonatas for violin and piano composed between 1797 and 1812 which Isabelle Faust and Alexander Melnikov have long cherished the prospect of recording. The behind-the-scenes bonus documentary filmed on this occasion, gives an insight into the impressive work on documentation and interpretation that enabled them to get as close as possible to the  composer's intentions.

 

Isabelle Faust recently made her Berlin Philharmonic debut. Whilst not neglecting the classical and romantic repertoire, she is a noted interpreter of 20th-century works, and has made several recordings of chamber music for harmonia mundi on both modern and period instruments with her partner Alexander Melnikov. Many of her critically acclaimed CDs have won prizes, including a Diapason d'Or and a Gramophone Award. Alexander Melnikov studied with Sviatoslav Richter and was a BBC New Generation Artist from 2000-2002. Besides his well-established duo with Isabelle Faust his partners include Vadim Repin, Natalia Gutman, the Borodin Quartet,Truls Mørk, Jean-Guihen Queyras,Andreas Staier, Boris Berezovsky and Alexei Lubimov. He recently completed a residency at the Cork International Festival.

 

Harmonia Mundi 4cds + DVD HMC902025-27