Hindemith: Sonata for Violin & Piano in E flat major, Op. 11 No. 1

Paul Hindemith’s first instrument was the violin, and so thoroughly did he master it that he rose to become leader of the Frankfurt Opera Orchestra at the age of 19. Even if his focus soon shifted to the viola and to composing, he continued to play and to write for the violin, creating a series of works that fascinatingly mirror the various stages in the development of his musical language, from the vocabulary of late romanticism to the monumental, revivified Baroque idiom of his maturity. In a generous selection of these works, the eminent violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann, who in 2010 was awarded the international Paul Hindemith Prize of the City of Hanau, makes an eloquent case for them, from the Sonata in E flat, composed in 1918 while Hindemith was still serving in the German army on the Western Front, to the strikingly emotional Violin Concerto of 1939, written during his first year of exile from Nazi Germany. Besides the masterly Sonata in C, composed shortly before the Concerto, and the tuneful 1935 Sonata in E, Zimmermann also includes the Solo Sonata, Op.31 No.2, with its final movement a set of variations on a Mozart song. In the accompanied sonatas Zimmermann enjoys the support of a regular chamber music partner, the pianist Enrico Pace, whereas in the concerto he teams up with Paavo Järvi, another recipient of the Paul Hindemith Prize and principal conductor of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. Together they convey an unusually colourful, shimmering and passionate image of Paul Hindemith, in a commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the death of the composer.

The reissue of this unique collection of chamber music masterpieces, ranging from Baroque to 20-century, played by the legendary David Oistrakh, with his luminous, sonorous and deeply moving tone.

Partners include Sviatoslav Richter, Lev Oborin, Alexander Goldenweiser and Vladimir Yampolski. With his supreme technique, enormous precision in rhythm as well as extensive variety in sound, David Oistrakh is one of the most celebrated violinists of the 20th century.

This 10-CD release details some of his best chamber music recordings and is filled to the brim with first-rate performances. The compilation effectively documents the development of violin music, simultaneously revealing Oistrakh’s mastering of an extensive repertoire.

Beginning with J.S. Bach, who was one of the first composers to write for the instrument independently and whose works are given an overtly romantic appraisal by the Russian maestro, it also traverses a series of Classical compositions – including Mozart’s Sonata No.3 K306 and Beethoven’s ‘Kreutzer’ Sonata Op.47. Most of the collection’s space, however, is taken up by a large assortment of 19th- and 20th-century music; this is undoubtedly where Oistrakh’s heart lies, and the violinist shows a strong commitment to pieces from his native country.

What is particularly evident from this release is that no matter how big or small, famous or little-known, each work is treated as a masterpiece. With largely forgotten names such as Catoire and Vladigerov sitting alongside some of the greatest composers in musical history, the compilation represents a musical feast that is not to be passed up.