Bartók: Violin Sonatas Nos. 1 & 2

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They are performances of outstanding musical insight and technical brilliance...James Ehnes and Andrew Armstrong perfectly encapsulate the anxieties projecting in both works...But they also find... — BBC Music Magazine, March 2012, 5 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 3rd Jan 2012
Catalogue No: CHAN10705
Label: Chandos
Length: 83 minutes

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Bartók: Violin Rhapsody No. 1, BB 94a, Sz. 87

Work length15:34

$3.15

$3.90

$4.80

James Ehnes, Andrew Armstrong
Recorded: 30 May–1 June 2011
Recording Venue: Potton Hall, Dunwich, Suffolk

I. Lassu. Moderato

Track length4:30

$1.05

$1.30

$1.60

II. Friss. Allegretto moderato

Track length5:54

$1.05

$1.30

$1.60

II. Friss. Allegretto moderato (With Alternative Ending)

Track length5:10

$1.05

$1.30

$1.60

Bartók: Violin Sonata No. 2, BB 85, Sz. 76

Work length20:05

$3.75

$4.55

$5.60

James Ehnes, Andrew Armstrong
Recorded: 30 May–1 June 2011
Recording Venue: Potton Hall, Dunwich, Suffolk

I. Molto moderato

Track length8:29

$1.60

$1.95

$2.40

II. Allegretto

Track length11:36

$2.15

$2.60

$3.20

Bartók: Violin Rhapsody No. 2, BB 96a, Sz. 90

Work length10:33

$2.10

$2.60

$3.20

James Ehnes, Andrew Armstrong
Recorded: 30 May–1 June 2011
Recording Venue: Potton Hall, Dunwich, Suffolk

I. Lassu. Moderato

Track length4:21

$1.05

$1.30

$1.60

II. Friss. Allegro moderato

Track length6:12

$1.05

$1.30

$1.60

Bartók: Violin Sonata No. 1, BB 84, Sz. 75

Work length33:34

$5.90

$7.15

$8.80

James Ehnes, Andrew Armstrong
Recorded: 30 May–1 June 2011
Recording Venue: Potton Hall, Dunwich, Suffolk

I. Allegro appassionato

Track length12:24

$2.15

$2.60

$3.20

II. Adagio

Track length11:23

$2.15

$2.60

$3.20

III. Allegro

Track length9:47

$1.60

$1.95

$2.40

Bartók: Andante in A major, DD 70, BB 26

Work length4:01

$1.05

$1.30

$1.60

James Ehnes, Andrew Armstrong
Recorded: 30 May–1 June 2011
Recording Venue: Potton Hall, Dunwich, Suffolk

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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 (CHAN10690), which was made Disc of the Month in Gramophone magazine. On this new recording, he turns to the Violin Sonatas and Rhapsodies, complemented by the earliest surviving work by Bartók for violin and piano, an Andante. He is accompanied by the pianist Andrew Armstrong.

Dedicated to the Hungarian violinist Adila d’Arányi, the sonatas for violin and piano were composed in 1921 – 22, around the same time as the highly successful ballet score The Miraculous Mandarin. Of the two works, the Sonata in C sharp minor is the more traditional in terms of its structure, and characterised by a mood that is sometimes exhilarated, sometimes turbulent – but always virtuosic. The finale builds from a series of increasingly wild dances, folk-like in style but entirely expressionistic.

In the Sonata in C major, Bartók removes himself from classical form and traditional tonal practice, calling on the violinist to distance himself from the romantic manner of playing. At several points, for example, the violin is played without vibrato, producing an ethereally cool and distant sound. The improvisatory character is strong throughout, as the work repeatedly alternates between the quiet and thoughtful, and the stormy and strident. The ending, in contrast to the earlier sonata, is understated, emotional, and expressive.

Bartók’s two rhapsodies for piano and violin, dedicated respectively to Joseph Szigeti and Zoltán Székely, are steeped in the tradition of Hungarian folk music. Exuberant and infectious, the works are heavily inspired by the csárdás, the national dance of Hungary, and display the traditional pairing of lassú (slow) and friss (lively) movements.

Reviews

March 2012

They are performances of outstanding musical insight and technical brilliance...James Ehnes and Andrew Armstrong perfectly encapsulate the anxieties projecting in both works...But they also find room for repose and reflection...As with Ehnes's recording of the Concertos, the present collection sweeps the board in terms of performance and generosity alike.

March 2012

The performances are assertive but never excessively forceful, tonally sweet (useful in this often acerbic music) and, from Andrew Armstrong's standpoint, almost impressionist in their projection of nuance and tonal shading...an exceedingly generous programme (80'30''), expertly engineered, well planned, beautifully executed.

February 2012

Ehnes has the measure of the fractured sonata design of the Allegro appassionato [in No. 1]...[He] gives a tellingly understated account of the preludial Molto moderato [in No. 2], dovetailing into a main Allegretto which open out its thematic and expressive potential so the work as a whole seems to unfold seamlessly towards a rapt and unifying postlude.

June 2012

This is a magnificent disc, wonderful playing captured in fantastic sound, and a fine way to begin an exploration of Bartók’s work in this genre. Roll on Volume Two.

Offer,Bartók: Violin Sonatas Nos. 1 & 2

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