Hahn Brautigam

The three-time GRAMMY® Award-winning violinist Hilary Hahn presents her new recording of Eugène Ysaÿe’s Six Sonatas for Violin Solo, op. 27. Inspired by the example set by J.S. Bach two centuries earlier, legendary Belgian violinist and composer Eugène Ysaÿe wrote the first work in what turned out to be a six-sonata cycle in June 1923. One hundred years later, Hilary Hahn “one of the essential violinists of our time” (The New York Times), has recorded the set on her own wave of inspiration – driven by the impetus of the upcoming centenary to realize one of her dream projects.

On his second album for Alpha Classics, rising star violinist Kerson Leong juxtaposes the Violin Concertos of Bruch and Benjamin Britten. This unusual pairing is a reflection on the journey from one extreme of expression to another. Bruch’s In Memoriam is the perfect bridge between them.

The sixth disc in this highly acclaimed series combine two works in which Mozart's powers as an orchestrator come to the fore. Concerto No. 18 in B flat major, K 456, is sometimes referred to as one of the composers military concertos on the basis of the march-like main theme of the first movement. But more striking is the variety of ways that Mozart employs the various groups of instruments: strings, wind instruments and, of course, the piano. This aspect certainly didn't pass unnoticed by a listener as initiated as Mozart's father Leopold: in a letter to his daughter Nannerl he described how his enjoyment of the orchestral interplay had brought tears to his eyes.

Born in the vicinity of Cologne, only two years after and some sixty km distant from Beethoven, Johann Wilhelm Wilms was once a musical force to be reckoned with. In Amsterdam, where he lived from the age of 19, his music was actually performed more frequently than Beethoven’s at one period, and his orchestral works were played in such musical centres as Leipzig. Besides chamber music and solo sonatas, Wilms composed several symphonies and concertos, among them piano concertos for his own use.

Ronald Brautigam's piano playing throughout the concertos for piano and orchestra has all the vitality, expression and nimble finger work you would want. Conductor Lev Markiz keeps his players in check during the soloist's star-turns yet responds with verve when required.