Bach, Busoni, Beethoven

Yuuko Shiokawa, András Schiff

EN / DE
Yuuko Shiokawa and András Schiff are heard here in an insightful – and delightful – programme of sonatas for violin and piano which begins with Bach’s Sonata No.3 in E major, ends with Beethoven’s Sonata No.10 in G major, and has at its centre Busoni’s Sonata No. 2 in E minor. No other 20th century composer was as deeply steeped in the music of Bach as Ferruccio Busoni, and his second sonata, published in 1901, is indebted to both Bach and Beethoven.  Its form makes references to Beethoven’s late sonatas, and the final movement incorporates as its variation theme Bach’s chorale “Wie wohl ist mir”.  As on their earlier and widely-admired duo recording for ECM (featuring Schubert Fantasies), Shiokawa and Schiff play the music with absolute authority and deep understanding.  Their Bach-Busoni-Beethoven programme was recorded in Lugano’s Auditorio Stelio Molo RSI in December 2016, and produced by Manfred Eicher.
Yuuko Shiokawa und András Schiff sind hier mit einem Programm aus Sonaten für Violine und Klavier zu hören, das mit Bachs Sonate Nr. 3 in E-Dur beginnt, mit Beethovens Sonate Nr. 10 in G-Dur endet, und als Angelpunkt Busonis Sonate Nr. 2 in E-moll hat. Kein anderer Komponist des 20. Jahrhunderts hatte sich so intensiv mit der Musik von Bach auseinandergesetzt wie Busoni. Diese zweite Sonate, veröffentlicht 1901, ist sowohl Bach als auch Beethoven verpflichtet. Hinsichtlich der Form bezieht sie sich auf Beethovens späte Sonaten, und ihr Schlusssatz enthält als Thema ihrer Variationen den Bach-Choral „Wie wohl ist mir“.
Wie auf ihrer früheren, allenthalben bewunderten Duoaufnahme für ECM (mit Schubert-Fantasien), spielen Shiokawa und Schiff die Musik mit absoluter Autorität und tiefem Verständnis. Ihr Bach-Busoni-Beethoven-Programm wurde im Dezember 2016 im Auditorio Stelio Molo RSI in Lugano aufgenommen und von Manfred Eicher produziert.
Featured Artists Recorded

December 2015, Auditorio Stelio Molo RSI, Lugano

Original Release Date

27.10.2017

  • Sonata No. 3 in E major BWV 1016
    (Johann Sebastian Bach)
  • 1Adagio04:03
  • 2Allegro03:09
  • 3Adagio, ma non tanto04:46
  • 4Allegro04:04
  • Sonata No. 2 in e minor op. 36a
    (Ferruccio Busoni)
  • 5Langsam08:30
  • 6Presto03:18
  • 7Andante, piuttosto grave02:59
  • 8Andante con moto17:13
  • Sonata No. 10 in G major op. 96
    (Ludwig van Beethoven)
  • 9Allegro moderato11:14
  • 10Adagio espressivo05:54
  • 11Scherzo. Allegro - Trio02:02
  • 12Poco Allegretto08:56
Yuuko Shiokawa and András Schiff are heard here in an insightful programme of sonatas for violin and piano which begins with Bach’s Sonata No.3 in E major, ends with Beethoven’s Sonata No.10 in G major, and has at its centre Busoni’s Sonata No. 2 in E minor. As on their earlier and widely-admired recording for ECM (featuring Schubert Fantasies), Shiokawa and Schiff play the music with absolute authority and deep understanding.
 
Most of Johann Sebastian Bach’s chamber music was written in the period 1717-1723, when he was employed as Kappellmeister at the court of Cöthen. Bach wrote six violin sonatas, with the E major sonata standing apart from its companions, as Misha Donat notes in the CD booklet. “Of the two Adagios, the first, with its elaborate violin cantilena, is like the slow movement of a concerto…In the hauntingly beautiful c-sharp minor second slow movement, the melody is shared equally between the two players, at first alternating and then proceeding in contrapuntal dialogue.” The second allegro, meanwhile, is a “dazzling display piece unfolding in a vertiginous stream of semiquavers.”
 
No other 20th century composer was as deeply steeped in the music of Bach as Ferruccio Busoni, and his second sonata, composed in 1898 and published in 1901, is indebted to both Bach and Beethoven. Its form makes a number of references to Beethoven’s late sonatas, and the final movement incorporates as its variation theme Bach’s chorale “Wie wohl ist mir”. The success of the work marked a turning point for Busoni, who had hitherto invested most of his energies into his life as performer. “Repeated performances of my violin sonata have greatly encouraged me,” he wrote in 1902. “From next autumn I seriously intend to work just as hard as a composer as I have up to now as a pianist.”
 
Ludwig van Beethoven’s G-major Sonata, written in 1812 for French violinist Pierre Rode, was the last of his violin sonatas, and perhaps the most beautiful and original of them. Misha Donat; “The sonata begins with one of Beethoven’s most magical inspirations: the quiet sound of a violin trill. The trill, and the theme it engenders, is followed by a series of arching arpeggios whose expansiveness seems to open up infinite vistas.”
 
Yuuko Shiokawa and András Schiff’s Bach-Busoni-Beethoven programme was recorded in Lugano’s Auditorio Stelio Molo RSI in December 2016.
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