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One of the leading young soloists to emerge from Scandinavia in recent years, noted particularly for her superb musical expression, as well as her well-developed virtuosity and musicality.
Young Norwegian violinist, Vilde Frang brings together a diverse, yet complimentary selection of sonatas for her second EMI Classics release. The recording is available on CD and digital download from 7° March, 2011.
The youthful, spirited Grieg: Violin Sonata No.1 in F Major, Op. 8 and Richard Strauss: Violin Sonata in E-flat Major, Op. 18 are paired with Bartók’s technically challenging, musically complex Sonata for Solo Violin, BB 124, Sz. 117. Frang frequently performs the later, which Bartók composed as an homage to Bach, with the Strauss in concert. Vilde is joined by pianist Michail Lifits for this recording
Vilde’s debut recording, Sibelius and Prokofiev: Violin Concertos at 22, received wide-spread critical acclaim. The Financial Times wrote “rarely has this music sounded so tender, so intimate or so lyrical” while Independent Record Review called her “prodigiously gifted”. Vilde has been compared to a young Anne-Sophie Mutter, her mentor, with whom she often performs.
“Frang is clearly a new star in the violin firmament” The Guardian
Sonata In F Major, Op.8: I - Allegro Con Brio
Sonata In F Major, Op.8: II - Allegretto Quasi Andantino
Sonata In F Major, Op.8: III - Allegro Molto Vivace
Sonata For Solo Violin: I. Tempo Di Ciaccona
Sonata For Solo Violin: II. Fuga - Risoluto, Non Troppo Vivo
Sonata For Solo Violin: III. Melodia - Adagio
Sonata For Solo Violin: IV. Presto
Sonata In E Flat Major, Op. 18: Allegro, Ma Non Troppo
Sonata In E Flat Major, Op. 18: Improvisation (Andante Cantabile)
Sonata In E Flat Major, Op. 18: Finale (Andante - Allegro)
Watch a short video extract from Richard Strauss's Violin Sonata in E Flat major, Op 18
12th March 2011
****
“In Grieg’s youthful Sonata in F she’s feisty and poetic as the mood turns, with effortless flourishes. Strauss’s equally youthful Sonata in E billows with prodigal invention...[The Bartok is] strongly dispatched with plenty of muscle and heart. Adroit, impassioned, never shallow, Frang is the real thing.”
May 2011
*****
“Vilde Frang's micro-sensitive responses to dynamic, articulation and phrasing...prove a revelation in the heady opulence of the Strauss, which has never sounded so urgently seductive or expressively supple on disc...Finest of all is Bartók's fiendishly demanding Solo Sonata, a virtuoso minefield of technical and musical ingenuity which Frang negotiates with an unflinching sense of musical direction.”
May 2011
“Though Frang's tone generally appears quite light and silvery, she has ample reserves, and none of the climactic moments [in the Strauss] disappoint......In the Bartók I was immediately struck by Frang's fine rhythmic sense and varied tonal palette. Her playing has the necessary physicality for Bartók, without ever appearing forced...overall it's a top-class performance and, indeed, the whole programme is clearly a winner.”
April 2011
“This is a singularly impressive recital, both for the choice of music - a mixed programme that works very well as a continuous listen...in which the performances are really quite compelling. Such commanding interpretations are made the more so by the musicians being ideally recorded...This is a spectacularly fine disc of unhackneyed repertoire in richly expressive performances.”
Muso Magazine
April/May 2011
*****
“Frang plays with astonishing dexterity and musicianship, putting paid to the notion that only Hungarian musicians can play Bartok with any real understanding. This is a quite compelling performance.”
Click on any of the works listed above for alternative recordings.
Sonata In F Major, Op.8: I - Allegro Con Brio
