Violin Sonatas

KADESHA RIMMER

It would be wrong to classify Nikos Skallkottas as a National Romantic composer. However, only certain works such as the Greek Dances for orchestra or the Two Little Suites for violin and piano have kept his name from falling into oblivion. The Two Little Suites reflect a shift in his last creative years: while maintaining typically strict structural control, Skallkottas was nevertheless evolving toward a less complex style. George Enescu was Romania's true musical ambassador. He belonged to the first generation of composers born in the relatively young Kingdom of Romania, but left his native land as a seven-year-old prodigy to study in Vienna, then i Paris: from then on, he led a cosmopolitan life. He would soon become a world-famed celebrity: first as a violinist, soon aslso as a composer, pianist and conductor. Yehudi Menuhin, his most renowned pupil, referred to Enescu as the most extraordinary human being he ever encountered. Several recordings of Enescu playing the violin have been preserved, including his own Third Violin Sonata with Dunu Lipatti, his godchild, as a sensitive accompanist on th epiano. begun before the Tzigane but only completed thereafter, the Violin Sonata in G Major was dedicated by Ravel to the above-mentioned Helene Jourdan-Morhange, a violinist who was both his friend and advisor. In the meantime she had contracted rheumatism in her fingers and could no longer play the sonata in public. None other than George Enescu stepped in to ensure the work's resounding success in its world premiere with Ravel at the piano.

Price: $25.98

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