Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 1 in D major, Op. 12 No. 1

Some disc projects - and not the least attractive - are born of an encounter. This 3 CD-box, the first presenting the complete Beethoven sonatas on period instruments, belongs to these. Jorja Fleezanis is a celebrated soloist on the modern violin - she gave the first performance of John Adams’ violin Concerto, a.o. -, a distinguished teacher, the concertmeister of the outstanding Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, and is passionate about period instruments. The pianist Cyril Huvé, a French recitalist teaching at Paris Conservatoire, was a pupil of Claudio Arrau and makes a speciality of pianoforte performances. They met thanks to Roger Norrington ten years ago, and soon a real complicity arose between the two interpreters, devoting themselves to Beethoven’s promethean figure. So they arrived to the point of giving the integral sonatas in the United States (thanks to the prestigious Schubert-Club in Minneapolis) and in France (Chaise-Dieu Festival). These recordings, made in 2003 in the little theatre of the castle in Valençay, are an exciting testimony of this artistic encounter: here is a version where the pianoforte, Beethoven’s own instrument, claims for its own rights and duties, in an thrilling dialog with a strong and together light violin. The box is sold at a very gentle price!

The ten violin sonatas form a significant part of Beethoven’s oeuvre, and the complete recording made in 1966-67 occupies just as prominent a position in Josef Suk and Jan Panenka’s discography. When viewed with the distance of time, the album confirms its importance in the repertoire of the two great artists. The famed tone of Josef Suk’s violin is completely in the composer’s service, the instrument talks and sings, while Panenka’s take on Beethoven still astonishes with its wealth of articulation, purity of style and crystal-clear tone.

The understanding and harmony between the two artists is similar to the intimacy of an encounter between two old friends after being separated for a long time. Suk and Panenka’s performance is devoid of egoism – both of them subordinate their technical virtuosity and musicality to the composer’s genius. Hence, it comes as no surprise that almost half a century after it was made the recording still ranks among the most sought after complete Beethoven albums. It has now been newly digitised and sensitively remastered from the original tapes. The word “legendary” tends to be grossly overused, yet in connection with this recording and the two superlative musicians it is entirely fitting. Remastered Beethoven with Suk and Panenka – a legendary recording, a superb new sound.

Sarah Kapustin gained a Masters degree in violin performance at the Juilliard School. She has performed duo recitals with Jeannette Koekkoek for several years and they recently performed the Beethoven sonata cycle to great acclaim in Italy at Pieve a Castello and at the Indiana University Summer Music Festival.

Robert Mann, violinist, conductor, and composer, has been a driving force in the world of American chamber music for more than fifty years. He is, in the words of Richard Dyer of the Boston Globe, ‘one of the country’s most admired and deeply loved musicians.’

Stephen Hough studied with Gordon Green and Derrick Wyndham at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, UK and with Adele Marcus at the Julliard School. Since his highly acclaimed New York Recital debut in 1984 Stephen Hough has become one of the World’s most recognised and admired performers.

Johann van Beethoven first became aware of his son Ludwig's aptitude for music when the latter was amusing himself by 'scraping at' a violin. After lessons from his father, the boy was also taught by his cousin Franz Rovantini and became a string player of sufficient skill to play the viola in the Bonn opera orchestra from 1789 onwards. Between the ages of 20 and 24 he set down on paper his earliest compositions for violin and keyboard: a sonata in A major that remained unpublished (Hess 46), 12 variations on an aria from Le nozze di Figaro published in 1793 (WoO 40), a rondo in G major written in 1794 but only released to Simrock for publication much later, in 1808 (WoO 41), and six German dances composed in Prague in 1796 for the Countesses Thun (WoO 42). However, these pieces cannot rival the ten sonatas for violin and piano composed between 1797 and 1812 which Isabelle Faust and Alexander Melnikov have long cherished the prospect of recording. The behind-the-scenes bonus documentary filmed on this occasion, gives an insight into the impressive work on documentation and interpretation that enabled them to get as close as possible to the composer's intentions.

Violinist Barbara Govatos and pianist Marcantonio Barone have partnered on Beethoven’s sonatas for many years. Govatos is a member of the Philadelphia Orchestra and Barone is a leading soloist and chamber musician, most active in the Philadelphia area. Together they perform Beethoven’s complete Sonatas for Violin and Piano on a new recording for Bridge.