For some people, a whole disc of solo violin music is more solo violin music than they ever want to hear. For those people, this disc by the Russian virtuoso Maxim Vengerov comes highly recommended: 66 minutes of virtuoso violin playing and all of it fascinating music. The four solo sonatas by Eugčne Ysa˙e that open the disc are astoundingly difficult for the player, but astonishingly compelling for the listener. Sonata No. 2 "Obsession" has snatches of Bach set alongside snippets of the medieval Dies Irae chant, creating a ...
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For some people, a whole disc of solo violin music is more solo violin music than they ever want to hear. For those people, this disc by the Russian virtuoso Maxim Vengerov comes highly recommended: 66 minutes of virtuoso violin playing and all of it fascinating music. The four solo sonatas by Eugčne Ysa˙e that open the disc are astoundingly difficult for the player, but astonishingly compelling for the listener. Sonata No. 2 "Obsession" has snatches of Bach set alongside snippets of the medieval Dies Irae chant, creating a frightening soundscape that Vengerov gallops across like the Headless Horseman. Sonata No. 3 "Ballade" is a dramatic tone poem for solo violin that Vengerov acts as well as plays. The Sonata No. 4 was dedicated to the great Vienna violinist Fritz Kreisler and Vengerov plays it with all the charm of old Vienna. The Sonata No. 6, dedicated to Spanish virtuoso Manuel Quiroga, features a slinky habanera and Vengerov leans into it like a man dancing the tango. The first of two works by...
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