Bartok Sonata For Two Piano

A welcome return to the piano music of Béla Bartók and a programme which includes the popular Sonatina, the aggressively experimental Op 18 Études and the Piano Sonata of 1926, the composer’s ‘year of the piano’. Cédric Tiberghien is then joined by François-Frédéric Guy, Colin Currie and Sam Walton for the Sonata for two pianos and percussion—a high-spirited conclusion to this successful mini series.

A welcome return to the piano music of Béla Bartók and a programme which includes the popular Sonatina, the aggressively experimental Op 18 Études and the Piano Sonata of 1926, the composer’s ‘year of the piano’. Cédric Tiberghien is then joined by François-Frédéric Guy, Colin Currie and Sam Walton for the Sonata for two pianos and percussion—a high-spirited conclusion to this successful mini series.

“I always find my role as a pianist very similar to an actor. Fundamentally speaking, we are all interpreters trying to decode a piece of art and transmitting to the audience through our own means.”

“I always find my role as a pianist very similar to an actor. Fundamentally speaking, we are all interpreters trying to decode a piece of art and transmitting to the audience through our own means.”Pianist Cheng Zhang first received international recogni­tion in 2011 by winning both the only Haskil prize and public prize at the prestigious Clara Haskil International Piano Competition in Vevey Switzerland.A native of China, he garnered critical acclaim for his per­formances at such venues including Konzerthaus in Berlin, Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, Stravinski Auditorium in Montreux and Philharmonic in Warsaw. Highlights in recent years include appearances at Klavier-Festival Ruhr, Verbier Festival Academy, Festival Septembre Musical de Montreux-Vevey, Schubertiade from Espace 2, Bonn Robert Schumannfest and Nohant Chopin Festival.

This is the second volume in a series devoted to the works for strings by Béla Bartók, with James Ehnes the featured soloist. Earlier this year, Ehnes recorded the Violin and Viola Concertos (CHAN 10690), which was made Disc of the Month in Gramophone magazine.

Alpha label is launching a collaboration with the Ensemble Intercontemporain and its new artistic director, composer-conductor Matthias Pintscher. This series includes alternate 20th-century landmarks and new works, providing an opportunity to show to advantage the great quality of the EIC musicians in the major masterpieces of the last century and to discover scores by composers of the 21st century. This release features works of Béla Bartok & György Ligeti.

One of the leading young soloists to emerge from Scandinavia in recent years, noted particularly for her superb musical expression, as well as her well-developed virtuosity and musicality. Young Norwegian violinist, Vilde Frang brings together a diverse, yet complimentary selection of sonatas for her second EMI Classics release. The youthful, spirited Grieg: Violin Sonata No.1 in F Major, Op. 8 and Richard Strauss: Violin Sonata in E-flat Major, Op. 18 are paired with Bartók’s technically challenging, musically complex Sonata for Solo Violin, BB 124, Sz. 117. Frang frequently performs the later, which Bartók composed as an homage to Bach, with the Strauss in concert. Vilde is joined by pianist Michail Lifits for this recording.

This recording is an element of the First Prize of the Michael Hill International Violin Competition, won by Suyeon Kang in 2015. The competition aims to recognise and encourage musical excellence and artistry, and to expand performance opportunities for young violinists from all over the world.

Bela Bartok's friendship with violinists Joseph Szigeti and Zoltan Szekely allowed him to acquire an in-depth knowledge of the violin that informed his writing. Both Rhapsodies for violin and piano are structured in two parts, a Lassu and a Friss - a Moderato followed by an Allegro. The First Rhapsody draws on Bartok's ethnological studies in its use of Romanian folk dances, while the Second is a more enigmatic work. The Violin Sonata No. 1 is an earlier piece full of atmospheric drama and grandiose gestures, impressionistic in places and concluding with rich Hungarian folk motifs.