Aaron Copland composed his Violin Sonata in 1943, a period when he found himself in Hollywood working on a pro-Soviet, anti-Nazi film The North Star. On this MSR Classics disc Copland's Sonata becomes a centre piece for music by three other Jewish composers all of whom would be displaced through the war in Europe.

Ernest Bloch (1880-1959) and Erich Zeisl (1905-1969) went to America. Zeisl's Sonata dates from the years 1949-1950. Subtitled "Brandeis" after Louis Brandeis the Supreme Court Justice who financially supported Zeisl during its composition. The music of Ernest Bloch is well known, that of Robert Dauber (1922-1945) way off any musical radar. His Serenata dates from 1942, and sounds like it has come directly off the soundtrack of a 1940s romantic British film. Dauber would die in a concentration camp.

The music on this disc should apeal to those seeking unusual repertoire. They will be rewarded by powerful interpretations by violinist Zina Schiff whom the New York Times described as an instrumentalist of "Luscious high voltage." Her previous release on MSR Classics, was of the Violin Concertos by Sibelius and Samuel Barber - MS1459.