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CDA67504

Buy? £13.99

Recording details: October 2004
Henry Wood Hall, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Eric Wen
Engineered by Tony Faulkner
Release date: June 2006
Total duration: 75 minutes 15 seconds
Available for download on iTunes: Yes

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'Any rival versions to this Hyperion disc will have to be truly exceptional, for this issue is, in almost every respect, going to be hard to beat. The recording quality is first-class - the balance between the instruments is ideal, and the performances have clearly been thought through with considerable musicianship. This is a first-rate issue' (International Record Review)

'It is always a treat to get a Shaham-Erez recording to review ... In this recording the violin and piano are treated as equal partners. Both instruments are reproduced in a way that allows everything to be heard in the musical equivalent to full natural color. Their musicianship is superb' (American Record Guide)

'[Hagai Shaham et Arnon Erez] ont su nous faire entendre tout à tour les motifs principaux sans véritable "amalgame" de leurs voix, ont pu trouver une grande homogénéité de style et un parfait équilibre sonore et ont réussi à faire resortir toutes les innovations mélodiques, harmoniques et rythmiques imaginées par Grieg' (Classica-Répertoire, France)

'The playing is outgoing and communicative, and each movement makes a distinct positive impression. In vivacious movements the sheer verve of the playing is irresistible … an extremely enjoyable issue' (Gramophone)

'A strong recommendation' (Fanfare, USA)

'In these brilliant, exuberant and flawless performances technical means and exquisite interpretations are bound together in a pure and attractive manner…Prick up your ears especially for the magnificent transition to melancholy in the Allegretto tranquillo of Sonata no.2…this is a superb duo' (Luister, Holland)

'Following beautiful discs of Bloch and Hubay, Hagai Shaham offers us a remarkable album of Grieg. Dominated by musical quality without fault, these interpretations are also worth for perfect balance between the two instruments … In the three sonatas Shaham knew how to preserve a mixture of simplicity and thrifty lyricism which characterizes them … A beautiful good album' (Diapason, France)

'For each (sonata) has its own distinctive personality, while each also finds the composer in full command of the duo combination as a partnership of equals. Full marks then to the collaboration of Shaham and Erez, and to the Hyperion recording, which has such a natural perspective. For example, the violin tone in climactic passages, such as the second movement of Op. 8, is particularly imposing and effective. The two players bring to the music a spontaneous flow… As a mark of their success, great moments such as the arrival of the ‘big tune’ in the dance-like finale of the Sonata No. 3 can be heard for all they are worth’ (Music-Web International)

Violin Sonatas
Violin Sonata No 1 in F major, Op 8
Violin Sonata No 2 in G major, Op 13
Violin Sonata No 3 in C minor, Op 45
Lyrische Stücke 'Lyric Pieces' III, Op 43
Lyrische Stücke 'Lyric Pieces' X, Op 71
Lyrische Stücke 'Lyric Pieces' III, Op 43
Stimmungen 'Moods', Op 73
Lyrische Stücke 'Lyric Pieces' IX, Op 68
Norske folkeviser og dandse 'Norwegian folk songs and dances', Op 17
In 1900 the fifty-six-year-old Edvard Grieg cast an eye back over his music and confessed that he thought his three violin sonatas were among his best works, each of them representing a stage in his development, ‘the first naïve, rich in ideas, the second national and the third with a wider horizon’.

On this disc violinist Hagai Shaham displays his thrilling virtuosity and lustrous tone in his performances of Greig’s favourite sonatas, through the lyrical, spring-like freshness of Sonata No 1 and the playful rustic folk-inspired charm of Sonata No 2 to the brooding and dramatic Sonata No 3.

Also on this disc are six of Grieg’s piano miniatures, arranged for violin and piano by the Lithuanian-born violinist, Joseph Achron.