Soli Tamsin Waley-Cohen

• Béla Bartók (1881-1945):
• 1 I. Tempo di ciaccona 14:12
• 2 II. Fuga: Risoluto, non troppo vivo 05:00
• 3 III. Melodia: Adagio 08:36
• 4 IV. Presto 06:09
• George Benjamin (1960): 3 Miniatures:
• 5 No. 1. A Lullaby for Lalit 03:52
• 6 No. 2. A Canon for Sally 02:29
• 7 No. 3. Lauer Lied 03:16
• Krzysztof Penderecki (1933):
• 8 Cadenza (version for violin) 10:05
• Elliott Carter (1908-2012): 4 Lauds:
• 9 No. 1. Statement: Remembering Aaron 04:09
• 10 4 Lauds: No. 3. Rhapsodic Musings 03:36
• György Kurtág (1926):
• 11 In Nomine - all'ongherese (Damjanich emlekko) 05:45
• 12 Anziksz Kellerannanak (Postcard to Anna Keller) 00:31
• 13 Hommage a John Cage - Faltering words 01:53
• 14 In memoriam Blum Thomas 02:38
• 15 …feerie d'automne… 02:26
• 16 Hommage a J.S.B 01:53
• Total Runtime 01:16:30

Info for Soli

Tamsin Waley-Cohen, a violinist of ‘fearless intensity’ (The Guardian), explores post-1944 solo repertoire, pushing the instrument to its limits. Bartok’s Solo Sonata, an ‘Everest’ of the violin repertoire, sits at the heart of this recording which also includes Penderecki’s Cadenza, and miniatures by Carter, Gyorgy Kurtag and George Benjamin.

Waley-Cohen never loses poise." (The Strad)

"Seventy-seven minutes of unaccompanied violin, and strenuous modern repertory at that, may make this disc a daunting prospect, but Waley-Cohen's devotion to her cause is palpable, and her interpretative flair likewise. This is a sequence (beginning with Bartok's full-dress, Bach-inspired Sonata) bursting with vitality; and the choices, all interesting, compose a little map of modernism." (The Sunday Times)

"It's brave for a young artist to settle on a seemingly hard-core programme of solo repertoire, but it's a measure of Waley-Cohen's commitment and energy (not to mention prodigious technique) that it succeeds utterly." (Classical Music Magazine)

"The programme provides a fascinating survey of solo violin music of the last 25 years and her playing, often forceful and uncompromising...carries real conviction. The more delicate pieces, for instance the lovely Benjamin 'Lauer Lied', are just as persuasive." (Gramophone)

"The opening of the Bartok Sonata is powerful and arresting, and there's passion and musical imagination throughout, the fiendish multiple stops and alternations between bowed and plucked notes assured in tone and precise in intonation." (BBC Music Magazine)

Tamsin Waley-Cohen, violin

Tamsin Waley-Cohen
Born in London in 1986, Tamsin Waley-Cohen enjoys an adventurous and varied career. In addition to concerts with the Royal Philharmonic, London Philharmonic and BBC orchestras, amongst others, she has been associate artist with the Orchestra of the Swan and works with conductors including Andrew Litton and Tamás Vásáry. She enjoys a duo partnership with Huw Watkins, whose Concertino she premiered, and together they have recorded for Champs Hill and Signum Records, for whom she is a Signum Classics Artist. With her sister, composer Freya Waley-Cohen, and architects Finbarr O’Dempsey and Andrew Skulina, she holds an Open Space residency at Aldeburgh. Her love of chamber music led her to start the Honeymead Festival, now in its ninth year, and she is also artistic director of the Sunday Series at London’s Tricycle Theatre. In 2016-2017 she will be a recipient of the ECHO Rising Stars Awards. She studied at the Royal College of Music and her teachers included Itzhak Rashkovsky, Ruggiero Ricci, and András Keller.

Booklet for Soli