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Track(s) taken from CDA67504

Violin Sonata No 2 in G major, Op 13

composer
1867

Hagai Shaham (violin), Arnon Erez (piano)
Recording details: October 2004
Henry Wood Hall, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Eric Wen
Engineered by Tony Faulkner
Release date: June 2006
Total duration: 20 minutes 4 seconds
 

Other recordings available for download

Charlie Siem (violin), Itamar Golan (piano)

Reviews

‘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)

‘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)

‘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)

‘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)

‘A strong recommendation’ (Fanfare, USA)

‘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’ (MusicWeb International)

‘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, Netherlands)

«Hagai Shaham et Arnon Erez ont su nous faire entendre tour 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, France)
The Violin Sonata No 2 in G major, Op 13, was written in the three weeks of Grieg‘s honeymoon—small wonder it is such a happy piece. The Norwegian folk manner was now a natural part of his vocabulary, and the Second Violin Sonata is impregnated with its contours. Both outer movements contain elements of the springar—though the first is introduced by a gloomy Lento doloroso in G minor, setting the scene, as in the First Sonata, for the buoyant G major tune, Allegro vivace, which follows. The secondary theme—with the ‘Grieg motif’ prominent—offers a harmonic contrast (it is in the upper mediant, B minor) but is built on the same thematic material; the third tune is in the dominant, D major. After the generous exposition, Grieg keeps the development short, varies the material in the recapitulation, announces the coda in the grand manner and signs off with a confident flourish. The slow movement of the Second Sonata is likewise in ABA form, the E minor outer sections (constructed from the dotted four-note shape in the first bar) surrounding the E major middle panel (also generated from that same shape). The finale maintains the formal evolution of the first movement: it is an individual amalgam of sonata-form and rondo, once again contrasting the rhythmic–melodic motivic interrelationships of the melodic material with more dramatic harmonic shifts.

The Second Violin Sonata was dedicated to Johan Svendsen, Grieg’s comrade-in-art, although it was premiered by Gudbrand Böhn, with the composer at the piano, in the autumn of 1867.

from notes by Martin Anderson © 2006

La Seconde Sonate pour violon en sol majeur, op. 13, vit le jour durant les trois semaines de lune de miel de Grieg, et l’on ne s’étonnera donc pas qu’il s’agisse d’une pièce aussi rayonnante de joie. Les tournures du folklore norvégien faisaient désormais partie intégrante de son vocabulaire, et cette sonate en est toute entière imprégnée. Les deux mouvements placés aux extrémités contiennent des éléments du springar, même si le premier est introduit par un sombre Lento doloroso en sol mineur qui plante le décors, comme dans la Première Sonate, pour la joyeuse mélodie en sol majeur de l’Allegro vivace qui suit. Le second thème, où prédomine le «motif Grieg», contraste sur le plan harmonique (il est à la sus-dominante, en si mineur) tout en étant basé sur les mêmes idées; le troisième thème est à la dominante, en ré majeur. Après cette généreuse exposition, Grieg s’en tient à un développement concis, opère des variations sur les différents thèmes dans la réexposition, annonce la coda avec panache et conclut en fanfare. Le mouvement lent est également dans la forme ABA, la section centrale en mi majeur étant encadrée par deux sections en mi mineur, toutes trois construites sur un motif pointé entendu dès la première mesure. Le finale reprend le schéma formel du premier mouvement: il s’agit d’une combinaison de forme sonate et de rondo où l’on retrouve à nouveau les effets de contrastes entre les interrelations rythmiques et mélodiques des éléments thématiques et davantage encore de changements harmoniques.

Grieg dédia sa Deuxième Sonate pour violon à son complice Johan Svendsen, mais elle fut créée par Gudbrand Böhn, accompagné par le compositeur, à l’automne 1867.

extrait des notes rédigées par Martin Anderson © 2006
Français: Baudime Jam

Die Violinsonate Nr. 2 in G-Dur op. 13 entstand in den drei Flitterwochen—es wundert deshalb kaum, dass sie so glücklich klingt. Der norwegische Volkston gehörte nunmehr zu einem natürlichen Teil in Griegs Vokabular, und die 2. Violinsonate ist von solchen Einflüssen durchdrungen. Beide Außensätze enthalten Elemente eines munteren Springar—auch wenn der erste Satz vorerst von einem schwermütigen Lento doloroso in g-Moll eingeleitet wird und damit, wie in der ersten Sonate, einer lebhaften Melodie (hier Allegro vivace, in G-Dur) ein langsames Vorspiel vorschaltet. Das Nebenthema, aus dem das „Grieg-Motiv“ hervorsticht, bildet dazu einen harmonischen Kontrast (in der Obermediante h-Moll), beruht aber auf dem gleichen thematischen Material. Die dritte Melodie steht in der Dominante D-Dur. Nach der umfangreichen Exposition hält Grieg die Durchführung kurz, variiert das Material in der Reprise, kündigt die Koda im großen Stil an und beschließt das Geschehen mit einer selbstbewussten virtuosen Geste. Der langsame Satz der 2. Sonate ist ebenso in einer ABA-Form, die Außenabschnitte in e-Moll (die auf der im ersten Takt erklingenden punktierten Geste aus vier Noten aufgebaut sind) umschließen den Mittelteil in E-Dur (dessen Material auch von der gleichen Geste abgeleitet wurde). Der Schlusssatz entspricht der formalen Entwicklung des ersten Satzes: Er ist eine individuelle Mischung aus Sonatenform und Rondo, wobei wiederum rhythmisch-melodische motivische Bezüge im melodischen Material im Kontrast mit dramatischeren harmonischen Wendungen stehen.

Die 2. Violinsonate wurde Johan Svendsen, Griegs Gesinnungsgenosse in Sachen Kunst, gewidmet. Die Uraufführung im Herbst 1867 spielte allerdings Gudbrand Böhn, und übernahm der Komponist die Klavierstimme.

aus dem Begleittext von Martin Anderson © 2006
Deutsch: Elke Hockings

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