Lina Tur Bonet & Musica Alchemica Antonio Vivald

The Spanish violinist Lina Tur Bonet loves big challenges: Bach, Biber, Corelli, Vivaldi. She has already dedicated two albums to the "prete rosso", which have enraptured audiences and critics alike: "devil's violinist", "rock star attitude", "Jimi Hendrix of the baroque violin" are just some of the descriptions one could read about her.

The Spanish violinist Lina Tur Bonet loves big challenges: Bach, Biber, Corelli, Vivaldi. She has already dedicated two albums to the "prete rosso", which have enraptured audiences and critics alike: "devil's violinist", "rock star attitude", "Jimi Hendrix of the baroque violin" are just some of the descriptions one could read about her.

The Spanish violinist Lina Tur Bonet loves big challenges: Bach, Biber, Corelli, Vivaldi. She has already dedicated two albums to the "prete rosso", which have enraptured audiences and critics alike: "devil's violinist", "rock star attitude", "Jimi Hendrix of the baroque violin" are just some of the descriptions one could read about her.

Like all castrati, Gaetano Berenstadt's hormones had gone crazy, but Berenstadtis were particularly strong. With a height of about 185 cm, he is said to have had 130 cm long legs, arms that were far too short and a corpulent belly; a field day for the caricaturists. But when he stood on the opera stage and sang, he was idolised.

This is a 'concept-album' around Maurice Ravel and his special relation with Helene Jourdan Mourhange, a dear friend and violinist. The programme is set-up in order to take the listener by the hand into Ravel's musical world through a series of pieces which are gradually more deep and complex. The music is played on a 1935 Hautrive piano, while violin and cello are played on gut strings. The Tzigane is in the rarest version for Lutheal (Pleyel, 1910), a period prepared piano with a gipsy character.

This is a 'concept-album' around Maurice Ravel and his special relation with Helene Jourdan Mourhange, a dear friend and violinist. The programme is set-up in order to take the listener by the hand into Ravel's musical world through a series of pieces which are gradually more deep and complex. The music is played on a 1935 Hautrive piano, while violin and cello are played on gut strings. The Tzigane is in the rarest version for Lutheal (Pleyel, 1910), a period prepared piano with a gipsy character.

Hélène Jourdan Mourhange met Ravel for the first time after a concert in which she performed his Trio. She was an interesting, intelligent woman, well versed in the arts and culture of her time, and was a talented violinist who, however, had to stop playing years later due to rheumatoid arthritis. She then dedicated herself to musicology, reviews and other artistic activities. Not only that she was, like me, a violin player, but also shared that same disease, which I suffered in my youth. This has made me feel even closer to Ravel, and to feel a desire to make a tribute to Hélène by recording all the pieces written for her and thanks to her.