Schumann Sonatas For Violin And Piano

Grammy Award-winning violinist Augustin Hadelich is one of the most impressive musicians of his generation. Pianist Joyce Yang, youngest ever medalist of the Van Cliburn Competition, is a consistently electrifying presence on stage. Together these young artists produce a plethora of pyrotechnics and an abundance of musical imagination. This unique recital program pairs two 19th-century repertory staples – Sonatas by Franck and Schumann – with 20th-century fare by Kurtág and Previn, a combination Augustin and Joyce have performed to widespread acclaim in their frequent joint performances.

This release by Norwegian cellist Jonathan Aasgaard (the principal cellist of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra) and British pianist Martin Roscoe purports to be a complete recording of Brahms' music for cello and piano. In fact it's padded with quite a few other things that have little or nothing to do with Brahms other than the fact that he composed the original music.

Jennifer Pike, who won the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition at the tender age of 12, appears to have survived the perils of prodigyhood and entered her early twenties with musical intelligence intact. Here she offers a terrific program of music from the middle of the 19th century; all of it is abstract, but it brings vividly to mind the crucial trio of creative figures who met in the early 1850s: the ailing Robert Schumann, his musically frustrated wife Clara, and the young Johannes Brahms, mooning over the latter.

If you thought violinist Gidon Kremer and pianist Martha Argerich's 1986 DG recording of Schumann's two published violin sonatas was the last word in overwhelming passion in the German Romantic composer's late chamber music, try this 2008 ECM disc of the two published sonatas plus the unpublished sonata by violinist Carolin Widmann and pianist Dénes Várjon.

This new release features Schumann violin sonatas played with period instruments, including an Anselmo Bellosio violin, ca. 1770 with Gut strings and an Erard piano, serial number 32602, built in 1862. Maalismaa and Holmström have worked as a duo since 2011. They are co-directors of both the Ristiveto Festival, which specializes in performing late 19th-century music on period instruments, and the Classical Hietsu concert series in Helsinki. Finnish violinist Eriikka Maalismaa plays in a variety of ensembles and collectives and visits frequently as leader of orchestras. She is fascinated by saying Yes to things that scare her. Performing music of our time as well as collaborating with composers is one of her biggest interests.

When pianist Martha Argerich and violinist Renaud Capuçon gave a recital at the 2022 Aix-en-Provence Easter Festival, their extraordinary rapport was evident to all present. Captured live, their programme included three major works for violin and piano, all in the key of A: Schumann’s Sonata No. 1 Op. 105, Beethoven’s Sonata No. 9 Op. 47, “Kreutzer”, and Franck’s Sonata.