Beethoven: Complete Sonatas for Piano & Violin Isabelle Faust and Alexander Melnikov

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827): Violin Sonata No. 1 in D Major, Op. 12 No. 1 :
• 1 Violin Sonata No. 1 in D Major, Op. 12 No. 1 : I. Allegro con brio 08:53
• 2 Violin Sonata No. 1 in D Major, Op. 12 No. 1 : II. Tema con variazioni (Andante con moto) 06:28
• 3 Violin Sonata No. 1 in D Major, Op. 12 No. 1 : III. Rondo (Allegro) 04:39
• Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 12 No. 2 :
• 4 Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 12 No. 2 : I. Allegro vivace 05:51
• 5 Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 12 No. 2 : II. Andante, più tosto Allegretto 04:55
• 6 Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 12 No. 2 : III. Allegro piacevole 05:01
• Violin Sonata No. 3 in E-Flat Major, Op. 12 No. 3 :
• 7 Violin Sonata No. 3 in E-Flat Major, Op. 12 No. 3 : I. Allegro con spirito 07:53
• 8 Violin Sonata No. 3 in E-Flat Major, Op. 12 No. 3 : II. Adagio con molt'espressione 06:15
• 9 Violin Sonata No. 3 in E-Flat Major, Op. 12 No. 3 : III. Rondo (Allegro molto) 03:39
• Violin Sonata No. 4 in A Minor, Op. 23 :
• 10 Violin Sonata No. 4 in A Minor, Op. 23 : I. Presto 07:01
• 11 Violin Sonata No. 4 in A Minor, Op. 23 : II. Andante scherzoso, più Allegretto 07:05
• 12 Violin Sonata No. 4 in A Minor, Op. 23 : III. Allegro molto 05:07
• Violin Sonata No. 5 in F Major, Op. 24 "Spring":
• 13 Violin Sonata No. 5 in F Major, Op. 24 "Spring": I. Allegro 09:50
• 14 Violin Sonata No. 5 in F Major, Op. 24 "Spring": II. Adagio molto espressivo 05:46
• 15 Violin Sonata No. 5 in F Major, Op. 24 "Spring": III. Allegro molto 01:09
• 16 Violin Sonata No. 5 in F Major, Op. 24 "Spring": IV. Rondo (Allegro ma non troppo) 06:19
• Violin Sonata No. 10 in G Major, Op. 96 "The Cockrow":
• 17 Violin Sonata No. 10 in G Major, Op. 96 "The Cockrow": I. Allegro moderato 11:28
• 18 Violin Sonata No. 10 in G Major, Op. 96 "The Cockrow": II. Adagio espressivo 05:23
• 19 Violin Sonata No. 10 in G Major, Op. 96 "The Cockrow": III. Scherzo 01:53
• 20 Violin Sonata No. 10 in G Major, Op. 96 "The Cockrow": IV. Poco Allegretto 08:49
• Violin Sonata No. 6 in A Major, Op. 30 No. 1:
• 21 Violin Sonata No. 6 in A Major, Op. 30 No. 1: I. Allegro 06:56
• 22 Violin Sonata No. 6 in A Major, Op. 30 No. 1: II. Adagio molto espressivo 06:46
• 23 Violin Sonata No. 6 in A Major, Op. 30 No. 1: III. Allegretto con variazioni 07:55
• Violin Sonata No. 7 in C Minor, Op. 30 No. 2:
• 24 Violin Sonata No. 7 in C Minor, Op. 30 No. 2: I. Allegro con brio 07:05
• 25 Violin Sonata No. 7 in C Minor, Op. 30 No. 2: II. Adagio cantabile 07:28
• 26 Violin Sonata No. 7 in C Minor, Op. 30 No. 2: III. Scherzo (Allegro) 03:15
• 27 Violin Sonata No. 7 in C Minor, Op. 30 No. 2: IV. Allegro 04:52
• Violin Sonata No. 8 in G Major, Op. 30 No. 3:
• 28 Violin Sonata No. 8 in G Major, Op. 30 No. 3: I. Allegro assai 05:55
• 29 Violin Sonata No. 8 in G Major, Op. 30 No. 3: II. Tempo di Minuetto 06:09
• 30 Violin Sonata No. 8 in G Major, Op. 30 No. 3: III. Allegro vivace 03:03
• Violin Sonata No. 9 in A Major, Op. 47 "Kreutzer":
• 31 Violin Sonata No. 9 in A Major, Op. 47 "Kreutzer": I. Adagio sostenuto (Presto) 13:22
• 32 Violin Sonata No. 9 in A Major, Op. 47 "Kreutzer": II. Andante con variazioni 13:41
• 33 Violin Sonata No. 9 in A Major, Op. 47 "Kreutzer": III. Finale (Presto) 08:16
• Total Runtime 03:38:07

Info for Beethoven: Complete Sonatas for Piano & Violin

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.

…the most stimulating and fascinating accounts of the Beethoven violin sonatas I have heard in many years. Isabelle Faust and Alexander Melnikov bring out the full quirkiness of the earlier works as well as their beauty, and their playing is remarkably accomplished throughout." (BBC Music)

"A triumph of probing musicianship that sets new standards in the digital era." (Classic FM)

"The musical sleight of hand used by these expert players to focus the very different character of each sonata is in itself cause for wonder. Though quite different as musical personalities...the combination of the two fires a laser between the staves...A marvellous set." (Gramophone Magazine)

Isabelle Faust, violin
Alexander Melnikov, piano

Isabelle Faust
adopts a perspective on music in which ever-new experiences and discoveries are the principal focus. Having founded a string quartet when just eleven, her early chamber music experiences imbued in her a fundamental belief that performing is a process of giving and taking, in which listening is just as important as expressing your own personality. Victory at the 1987 Leopold Mozart Competition, when she was just 15, brought with it the prospect of a solo career. However, the guiding principles instilled in her as a chamber musician remained strong.

After winning the 1993 Paganini Competition, she moved to France, where she grew to love the French repertoire, particularly the music of Fauré and Debussy. Here she came to international attention with her first recording - sonatas by Bartók, Szymanowski and Janácek – and gradually refined her command of the most important works in the violin repertoire. Isabelle Faust has since appeared with some of the world’s finest orchestras, including the Berliner and Münchner Philharmoniker, Orchestre de Paris, Boston Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, and Mahler Chamber Orchestra, under such conductors as Claudio Abbado, Giovanni Antonini, Jiri Belohlavek, Franz Brüggen, Daniel Harding or Mariss Jansons.

Whilst not neglecting the classical and romantic repertoire, she is a noted interpreter of the great twentieth-century works of Feldman, Jolivet, Ligeti, Nono, and Scelsi. She has premiered pieces by such composers as Olivier Messiaen, Werner Egk or Jörg Widmann, and works dedicated to her by the composers Thomas Larcher and Michael Jarrell. Isabelle Faust has made several recordings of chamber music for harmonia mundi on both modern and period instruments with partner Alexander Melnikov. Many of her critically acclaimed CDs have won prizes, including the Diapason d’Or and the Gramophone Award. Isabelle Faust plays the ‘Sleeping Beauty’ Stradivarius of 1704, kindly loaned to her by the L-Bank Baden Württemberg.

Alexander Melnikov
was born in Moscow in 1973 and began his music studies at the age of six at Moscow’s Central Music School. He then continued at the city’s Tchaikovsky Conservatory from which he graduated in 1997. Regularly invited by Sviatoslav Richter, he participated in his festivals in Moscow (December Nights) and his chamber music festival at La Grange deMeslay. He completed his postgraduate studies with Elisso Virssaladze in Munich. From 2000 to 2002 he was a BBC New Generation Artist. Alexander Melnikov appears regularly in recital at the world’s leading concert halls with major orchestras such as the Russian National Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Philadelphia Orchestra and BBC Philharmonic. Besides his well-established duo with Isabelle Faust, his partners include Vadim Repin, Natalia Gutman, Alexander Rudin, Victor Tretiakov, the Borodin Quartet, Truls Mørk, Jean-Guihen Queyras, and many others. In piano duo repertoire he appears regularly with Andreas Staier, Boris Berezovsky, and Alexei Lubimov. He also regularly performs on the fortepiano with Concerto Köln. He has recorded several CDs on harmonia mundi as a soloist(Scriabin, Rachmaninoff) and as a chamber musician (Isabelle Faust,Jean-Guihen Queyras, Teunis van der Zwart).

This album contains no booklet.