Beethoven: Violin Sonatas Nos. 4, 9 & 10 Andrew Wan & Charles Richard-Hamelin

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827): Violin Sonata No. 4 in A Minor, Op. 23:
• 1 Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 4 in A Minor, Op. 23: I. Presto 07:42
• 2 Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 4 in A Minor, Op. 23: II. Andante scherzoso, più allegretto 08:07
• 3 Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 4 in A Minor, Op. 23: III. Allegro molto 05:24
• Violin Sonata No. 9 in A Major, Op. 47 “Kreutzer”:
• 4 Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 9 in A Major, Op. 47 “Kreutzer”: I. Adagio sostenuto – Presto 13:55
• 5 Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 9 in A Major, Op. 47 “Kreutzer”: II. Andante con variazioni 15:10
• 6 Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 9 in A Major, Op. 47 “Kreutzer”: III. Presto 09:09
• Violin Sonata No. 10 in G Major, Op. 96:
• 7 Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 10 in G Major, Op. 96: I. Allegro moderato 11:02
• 8 Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 10 in G Major, Op. 96: II. Adagio espressivo 06:06
• 9 Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 10 in G Major, Op. 96: III. Scherzo - Allegro – Trio 01:51
• 10 Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 10 in G Major, Op. 96: IV. Poco allegretto 08:56
• Total Runtime 01:27:22

Info for Beethoven: Violin Sonatas Nos. 4, 9 & 10

With this third album, which includes Sonata No. 4 in A Minor, Op. 23, the famous Sonata No. 9 in A Major, Op. 47 (“Kreutzer”), and Sonata No. 10 in G Major, Op. 96, Andrew Wan and Charles Richard- Hamelin complete their recording of the entire cycle of Ludwig van Beethoven’s (1770–1827) sonatas for violin and piano.

Sonata No. 4 was composed in parallel with Sonata No. 5 in F Major, Op. 24 (“Spring”) in the latter half of 1800. Sonata No. 4 stands apart from both its opus 12 predecessors and Sonata No. 5 with its spartan piano part, which, more often than not, has only a single voice playing in each hand; the resulting texture is much akin to a string trio. After the rhythmic energy of the opening “Presto,” the middle section, marked “Andante scherzoso più allegretto,” serves as a light interlude between two serious movements. The concluding rondo features a number of highly contrasting sections, one of which foreshadows that of Sonata No. 9 (“Kreutzer”).

Andrew Wan, violine
Charles Richard-Hamelin, piano

Andrew Wan
was named concertmaster of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM) in 2008. As soloist, he has performed worldwide under conductors such as Vengerov, Petrenko, Labadie, Rizzi, Oundjian, Stern, and DePreist and has appeared in recitals with artists such as the Juilliard String Quartet, Repin, Hamelin, Trifonov, Pressler, Widmann, Ax, Ehnes, and Shaham.

His discography includes Grammy-nominated and Juno award-winning releases with the Seattle Chamber Music Society, the Metropolis Ensemble, and the New Orford String Quartet (NOSQ). In the fall of 2015, he released a live recording of all three Saint-Saëns violin concerti with the OSM and Kent Nagano under the Analekta label to wide critical acclaim, garnering an Opus Award and an ADISQ nomination.

Mr. Wan graduated from the Juilliard School with three degrees and is currently Assistant Professor of Violin at the Schulich School of Music at McGill University, Artistic Director of the OSM Chamber Soloists, Artistic Director of the Prince Edward County Chamber Music Festival, and Artistic Partner of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. Andrew Wan performs on a 1744 Michel’Angelo Bergonzi violin, and gratefully acknowledges its loan from the David Sela Collection.

Charles Richard-Hamelin
Silver medalist and laureate of the Krystian Zimerman award of the best sonata at the International Chopin Piano Competition in 2015, Charles Richard-Hamelin is standing out as one of the most important pianists of his generation.

He also won the second prize at the Montreal International Musical Competition and the third prize and special award for the best performance of a Beethoven sonata at the Seoul International Music Competition in South Korea. In April 2015, he was awarded the prestigious Career Development Award offered by the Women’s Musical Club of Toronto.

He has appeared in various prestigious festivals including the Prague Spring Festival, La Roque d’Anthéron in France, “Chopin and his Europe” Festival in Warsaw and the Lanaudière Festival in Canada. As a soloist, he has performed with various ensembles including the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Poznan Philharmonic Orchestra, Beethoven Academy Orchestra, Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal, OFUNAM (Mexico), Korean Symphony Orchestra and I Musici de Montréal.

Originally from Lanaudière in Québec, Charles Richard-Hamelin studied with Paul Surdulescu, Sara Laimon, Boris Berman and André Laplante. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in performance from McGill University in 2011 and a master’s degree from the Yale School of Music in 2013 and received full scholarships in both institutions.

He also completed an Artist Diploma program at the Conservatoire de musique et d’art dramatique de Montréal in 2016 and currently takes lessons on a regular basis with pianist Jean Saulnier. His first solo album, which features late works by Chopin, was released on the Analekta label in September 2015 and received widespread acclaim from critics throughout the world (Diapason, BBC Music Magazine, Le Devoir).

Booklet for Beethoven: Violin Sonatas Nos. 4, 9 & 10