Violin 42 Etudes

Rodolphe Kreutzer, a virtuoso violinist and composer, was a central figure of the French violin school. The work that brought him his most enduring fame as a composer was his forty classical Études ou Caprices for violin solo. These etudes first published in 1796, quickly established themselves in violin repertoire laying the foundations for violin technique which is why they are regarded as indispensable by virtuosos and teachers alike. The collection not only includes practice pieces that require good technical ability but also character pieces which are expressive and fun to play.

Despite the vast quantity of his compositions and the popularity he enjoyed during his lifetime, none of the 19 violin concertos of Rodolphe Kreutzer are heard with any great frequency on the modern concert stage. In fact, Kreutzer's name is largely forgotten save for his pedagogical writings and etudes. The liner notes of the CPO album put forth the notion Kreutzer's concertos have not fared as well as those of Brahms, Beethoven, and the like because Kreutzer was not primarily a symphonic composer. Upon hearing the three concertos recorded here (15, 18, and 19), listeners may find some truth to this theory. Compared to the fiery virtuosity and engaging melodies of the solo part, the orchestral tuttis are rather banal.

Elizabeth Wallfisch returns to CPO, this time to perform the 24 Caprices of another member of the Classical French violin school, Pierre Rode. Wallfisch is a superb violinist who specializes in historical performance practice. Rode composed almost entirely for the violin and his 24 Caprices en Forme d’Etudes are undoubtedly his most important works for solo violin. Unlike Kreutzer’s forty Études ou Caprices (999901-2), Rode’s Caprices are in order of key, not technical ability.

These chamber works bring Sony's adventurous, timely Ligeti series to a natural pinnacle. Long the challenger of stylistic stasis and customary demonstrations of excellence, Ligeti has outdone himself here (as he did with the fantastic Mechanical Music release). The Trio for Violin, Horn, and Piano (1982) challenges its players to stay in step with each other even while expanding virtuosity to the breaking point. Marie-Luise Neunecker plays such full horn parts that they roll flow over the tonal bounds, as does Saschko Gawriloff's violin and Pierre-Laurent Aimard's piano… –Andrew Bartlett..