Bruch Weithaas

Antje Weithaas probes every detail in the musical text, charged with energy and with her compelling musical intelligence and unrivaled command of technique. Her charisma and stage presence are gripping but never force their way in front of the work. And we therefore are happy that this internationally top-ranking violinist is now interpreting the Violin Concerto by Robert Schumann and the Double Concerto by Johannes Brahms for cpo with Maximilian Hornung, a cellist who in every way is her equal.

Following their previous two volumes of Beethoven’s Violin Sonatas, Antje Weithaas and Dénes Várjon now release the third volume on our partner label CAvi. This was a long-held wish of renowned violinist Antje Weithaas, who says “Just once in my lifetime, I wanted to record Beethoven’s ten violin sonatas as a cycle!”. Together with the versatile Hungarian pianist Dénes Várjon, she recorded the cycle not in the chronologial order but thematically. Their third and final album spans an arc from the first to the last violin sonatas, as well as Sonata No. 5 and 6, and collects the composer’s more lyrical works.

Following their previous two volumes of Beethoven’s Violin Sonatas, Antje Weithaas and Dénes Várjon now release the third volume on our partner label CAvi. This was a long-held wish of renowned violinist Antje Weithaas, who says “Just once in my lifetime, I wanted to record Beethoven’s ten violin sonatas as a cycle!”. Together with the versatile Hungarian pianist Dénes Várjon, she recorded the cycle not in the chronologial order but thematically. Their third and final album spans an arc from the first to the last violin sonatas, as well as Sonata No. 5 and 6, and collects the composer’s more lyrical works.

Both highly in demand on a worldwide scale as unique, exceptional chamber music performers, Antje Weithaas and D?nes V?rjon each ideally combine the highest degree of enthusiasm and precision: their energetic, passionate playing is the result of intense concentration. In Vol. I of their complete recording of Beethoven's violin sonatas, Weithaas and V?rjon have chosen not to follow chronological order, but to seek out thrilling contrast and fascinating variety instead - thus making Beethoven's rapid evolution as a composer all the more astounding. Volume 1, featuring Op. 12/2, Op. 23, and Op. 47, revolves around the tonal center of A major / A minor.

In the 1960s Aram Khachaturian engaged in a number of experiments in which he covered terrain situated at an astonishing distance from the immediately appealing tone of the works that he had composed prior to those years. These experiments included the first of his three concert rhapsodies, in which he completely emancipated himself from the established forms that he had filled out in his concertos for piano, violin, and violoncello, which already then were world famous. While the virtuosic ambitions of the rhapsodies are in no way inferior to the technical demands of their older sister works, he now requires what is perhaps an even higher measure of expressive shared experiencing and solo messaging.

Within a very short time of about 10 years, Beethoven's technique of composing developed rapidly. The artists on this recording wanted to show the comparison between earlier and later pieces, and this is the basis of this new series of recordings. of Beethoven's Violin Sonatas on three volumes.

Within a very short time of about 10 years, Beethoven's technique of composing developed rapidly. The artists on this recording wanted to show the comparison between earlier and later pieces, and this is the basis of this new series of recordings. of Beethoven's Violin Sonatas on three volumes.

Accardo's performances are nothing short of spectacular, and (the late) Kurt Masur and the Gewandhaus's performances never disappoint. Most classical audiophiles may be familiar only with Bruch's first violin concerto and the "Scottish Fantasy," but there are two more wonderful violin concertos, a Romance, a Konzertstuck, a Serenade, a piece entitled "Adagio Appassionato" and a piece that was new to me, "In Memoriam," a very beautiful and moving composition that is the last band on the last record.

Making her debut on Decca, Alisa Weilerstein presents three major works of the cello repertoire with Daniel Barenboim leading the Staatskapelle Berlin. The star vehicle, naturally, is Edward Elgar's Concerto in E minor, which Weilerstein plays with commanding presence, rich tone, and emotional depth. Most listeners will be drawn primarily to this performance because of the piece's familiarity, and Weilerstein's charisma and passionate playing make it the album's main attraction. Yet listeners should give Weilerstein and Barenboim credit for following the Elgar with an important if not instantly recognizable or approachable modernist work, Elliott Carter's powerful Cello Concerto. Weilerstein is quite bold to play this intensely dramatic and angular composition, and while it's unlikely to appeal to the majority of fans who adore the Elgar, it deserves its place on the program for its seriousness and extraordinary displays of solo and orchestral writing. To close, Weilerstein plays Max Bruch's Kol Nidrei, a Romantic work that returns the program to a mellow and melancholy mood and brings the CD to a satisfying close. Decca's reproduction is excellent, putting Weilerstein front and center with full resonance, but not leaving the vibrant accompaniment of the orchestra too far behind her.