BEETHOVEN EXPLORED-vol. 1 - PETER SHEPPARD SKAERVED, violin - AARON SHORR, piano

ID: MSVCD2003 (EAN: 5060054460064)  | 1 CD | DDD
Released in: 2003

LABEL:

METIER

Subcollection:

Piano

Composers:

BEETHOVEN, Ludwig Van | RUDOLPH VON ÖSTERREICH, Erzherzog

Interprets:

SHORR, Aaron (piano) | SKAERVED, Peter Sheppard (violin)

Other info:

The first in the "Life & Times" series which sets Beethoven's violin sonatas in their social and musical context. On this disc the "context" is provided by Beethoven's pupil, patron and confidant Archduke Rudolph Esterhazy of Austria in his Variations on a theme of Prnice Louis Ferdinand.

tracks:Beethoven:Violin Sonata in G major, op. 96Rondeau in G major, WoO 4112 Variations in F major after "Se vuol ballare" from Mozart's "Le Nozze di Figaro", WoO 40Archduke Rudolph:Variations in F major for violin and piano

“This is a splendid start for what appears to be an ongoing project. These first-rate performers clearly love and deeply understand the music, their rapport is impeccable and the insights they provide into Beethoven’s mid-period style are fascinating. The recording quality is admirable.” - Roy Brewer (MusicWeb)

“This is an auspicious Volume 1 to launch Metier's Beethoven Explored series, and it begins with an ideal performance of Beethoven's last sonata Op. 96. That is an endearing and unique work which I particularly love and cherish - and in earlier years had often played it at home with violinist friends. Everything here makes me smile with pleasure at its 'rightness' - balance, articulation and phrasing, and the tone quality of both instruments. I am tempted to say this is the best recording of Op. 96 I know. No worry or competition though; this series is unique in its purpose and as such is to be unreservedly welcomed. Full informative background notes by the violinist and everything else in the safe hands of David Lefeber. - Peter Grahame Woolf (Musical Pointers)

“An interesting program mostly of very rarely heard works. This could be very satisfying for someone seeking something classical but off the beaten path. Skaerved and Shorr … know their way around classical scores better than most big-time soloists, and this is a very satisfying, intelligent interpretation of [the Sonata].” - Josef Magil (American Record Guide)

“The playing is articulated with beautiful clarity, (enhanced by a notably clean recording); it’s a well-lit musical landscape in which all kinds of harmonic and textural details achieve prominence” - Duncan Druce (Gramophone)