Bartok/strauss/grieg: Violin Sonatas / Frang

Vilde Frang - Violin, Michael Lifits - Piano

Greig: Violin Sonata no.1 in F, op.8, Bartok: Sonata for Solo Violin, R. Strauss: Violin Sonata in E flat op.18

Gramophone Awards Finalist 2011 - Chamber Recording
Wholenote Discoveries - June 2011
A young European garnering a lot of attention is the Norwegian violinist Vilde Frang, whose CD of the Grieg and Strauss Violin Sonatas with pianist Michail Lifits, together with the Bartok Solo Sonata, is a first recital disc, following her well-received debut CD of the Sibelius and Prokofiev No.1 concertos. Frang, her label’s Young Artist of the Year in 2010, is understandably at home with the Grieg, and there is also fine playing in the Strauss, but at first sight the Bartok seems an odd stable-mate. Still, Frang’s clean, almost easy-sounding performance makes it feel possibly a bit less visceral and more “mainstream” than usual. This is clearly a player to watch. Terry Robbins
One of the leading young soloists to emerge from Scandinavia in recent years, Vilde Frang is noted particularly for her superb musical expression, as well as her well-developed virtuosity and musicality. Vilde Frang said, “With this recital recording I want to express my devotion towards my compatriot Edvard Grieg’s national romanticism, my fascination for Bartók’s monumental solo violin sonata following in the footsteps of Bach with hints of folkloristic elements, and my passion for Strauss’s sonata, a symphonic tone poem for just two lucky instruments. I am excited to bring these great works together on an album.” Following a recent performance of the Bartók sonata, the Danish newspaper Politiken wrote, “Vilde Frang is more than a virtuoso violinist. She is a great and rare artist […] not only fantastically unrestrained by Bartók’s tremendous technical challenges; she is also equal to the work’s musical complexity and magnitude. The effect is never a goal in itself, and there is no need for Vilde Frang to boast with her skills. She can do whatever she wants, and she wants more than most; but what she wants is completely shaped by an insightful respect for the work.” The Grieg and Strauss sonatas, composed in 1865 and 1887 respectively by the 22-year-old Grieg and the 23-year-old Strauss, are works filled with the fire and passion of youth while Bartók composed his technically challenging and musically complex solo sonata in 1944, 18 months before his death. Nevertheless the sonatas complement one another. Vilde frequently performs the Bartók and Strauss together

Price: $21.98