Beethoven: Violin Sonatas Nos. 6 & 9

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The Kreutzer Sonata is placed first, so we hear James Ehnes and Andrew Armstrong presenting their credentials in turn – Ehnes with effortless accurate double stops, and Armstrong picking up the... — BBC Music Magazine, July 2017, 4 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 24th Feb 2017
Catalogue No: ONYX4170
Label: Onyx
Length: 61 minutes

Gramophone Magazine

May 2017

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Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 9 in A major, Op. 47 ‘Kreutzer'

Work length38:20

Album only

James Ehnes, Andrew Armstrong

I. Adagio sostenuto

Track length13:43

$2.00

$2.80

$3.50

II. Andante con variazioni

Track length16:07

Album only

III. Finale. Presto

Track length8:30

$1.50

$2.10

$2.60

Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 6 in A major, Op. 30 No. 1

Work length23:32

$4.50

$6.30

$7.80

James Ehnes, Andrew Armstrong

I. Allegro

Track length7:54

$1.50

$2.10

$2.60

II. Adagio molto espressivo

Track length7:22

$1.50

$2.10

$2.60

III. Allegretto con variazioni

Track length8:16

$1.50

$2.10

$2.60

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The duo of old friends James Ehnes and Andrew Armstrong has established itself as one of the most exciting of our times. Their albums of violin sonatas by Franck & Strauss, and Debussy, Elgar & Respighi have been praised by critics worldwide. For this new album they turn to Beethoven and two A major sonatas with very different moods. The 9th, ‘Kreutzer’ sonata, is a huge work, heroic and turbulent in character – a kind of concerto for violin and piano. It is middle period Beethoven at its most dramatic. By contrast, the 6th sonata is a serene, introspective work of great beauty which has tended to be overlooked by its more outward-looking siblings. The intimacy of this sonata – especially the slow movement - is all the more surprising as the original finale was removed by the composer, to become the finale of the ‘Kreutzer’. Beethoven wrote the gentle variations to conclude the 6th sonata.

Reviews

July 2017

The Kreutzer Sonata is placed first, so we hear James Ehnes and Andrew Armstrong presenting their credentials in turn – Ehnes with effortless accurate double stops, and Armstrong picking up the thread, matching phrasing and mood. The turbulent main section of the movement is absolutely precise in ensemble, and projects a wide gamut of tone and dynamics.

Diapason April 2017

they converse as equals, underpinned by an irreproachable technique…and imbue the whole with a mixture of youthfulness, energy and radiant maturity…the expressive variety of Ehnes’s playing – perfectly placed and controlled vibrato, impeccable intonation – is elegant and aesthetic; the piano playing of Armstrong is richly fleshed, broad in dynamic but perfectly controlled.

May 2017

[Kreutzer Sonata] Ehnes and Armstrong are ravishing in the slow movement, truly molto espressivo, while a sense of playfulness is apparent in every bar of the finale, setting the seal on a compelling addition to Ehnes and Armstrong's remarkable discography

18th July 2017

An auspicious Beethoven recital by two outstanding musicians whose consonance and synergy are once again to the fore. While their Kreutzer sonata could perhaps do with a little more cut-and-thrust, these are nonetheless impeccably executed performances. Can more Beethoven now be expected from Ehnes and Armstrong? I look forward with interest

12th March 2017

there is always room for performances as vital and compelling as these... it’s the subtle interplay between the two players, ceding to each other as they “converse” melodically in the central variation movement [of the Kreutzer], that impresses here.

16th February 2017

There’s a clarity of ideas that means they never have to overstate...For some listeners, the featherweight diction won’t be brawny or volatile enough for mid-period Beethoven, but it would be wrong to mistake cleanliness for lack of emotional heft...The uncluttered, conversational generosity of this duo speaks volumes.

June 2017

[Beethoven’s Sixth Sonata] responds particularly well to James Ehnes’s velvet cantabile and purity of intonation

Beethoven: Violin Sonatas Nos. 6 & 9

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