Bartók: Works for Violin and Piano, Vol. 2 James Ehnes & Andrew Armstrong

• Béla Bartók (1881 - 1945): Sonata for Solo Violin, BB 124, Sz. 117:
• 1 Bartók: Sonata for Solo Violin, BB 124, Sz. 117: I. Tempo di ciaccona 09:05
• 2 Bartók: Sonata for Solo Violin, BB 124, Sz. 117: II. Fuga. Risoluto, non troppo vivo 04:19
• 3 Bartók: Sonata for Solo Violin, BB 124, Sz. 117: III. Melodia. Adagio 07:14
• 4 Bartók: Sonata for Solo Violin, BB 124, Sz. 117: IV. Presto 05:06
• Violin Sonata in E Minor, BB 28:
• 5 Bartók: Violin Sonata in E Minor, BB 28: I. Allegro moderato (molto rubato) 09:39
• 6 Bartók: Violin Sonata in E Minor, BB 28: II. Andante 10:53
• 7 Bartók: Violin Sonata in E Minor, BB 28: III. Vivace 09:32
• Magyar népdalok, BB 109, Sz. 29:
• 8 Bartók: Magyar népdalok, BB 109, Sz. 29: Book II No. 34, Andante 01:31
• 9 Bartók: Magyar népdalok, BB 109, Sz. 29: Book II No. 36, Allegretto 00:29
• 10 Bartók: Magyar népdalok, BB 109, Sz. 29: Book I No. 17, Lento, ma non troppo 01:18
• 11 Bartók: Magyar népdalok, BB 109, Sz. 29: Book II No. 31, Allegro 01:00
• 12 Bartók: Magyar népdalok, BB 109, Sz. 29: Book I No. 16, Lento, poco rubato 01:36
• 13 Bartók: Magyar népdalok, BB 109, Sz. 29: Book I No. 14, Allegretto 00:27
• 14 Bartók: Magyar népdalok, BB 109, Sz. 29: Book I No. 19, Allegretto scherzando 00:35
• 15 Bartók: Magyar népdalok, BB 109, Sz. 29: Book I No. 8, Sostenuto 01:19
• 16 Bartók: Magyar népdalok, BB 109, Sz. 29: Book I No. 21, Allegro robusto 00:59
• For Children, BB 53, Sz.42:
• 17 Bartók: For Children, BB 53, Sz.42: Book II No. 28, Parlando (Arr. for Violin and Piano by Joseph Szigeti) 01:06
• 18 Bartók: For Children, BB 53, Sz.42: Book I No. 18, Andante non molto (Arr. for Violin and Piano by Joseph Szigeti) 00:56
• 19 Bartók: For Children, BB 53, Sz.42: Book II No. 42, Allegro vivace (Arr. for Violin and Piano by Joseph Szigeti) 01:35
• 20 Bartók: For Children, BB 53, Sz.42: Book II No. 33, Andante sostenuto (Arr. for Violin and Piano by Joseph Szigeti) 01:32
• 21 Bartók: For Children, BB 53, Sz.42: Book I No. 6, Allegro (Arr. for Violin and Piano by Joseph Szigeti) 00:42
• 22 Bartók: For Children, BB 53, Sz.42: Book I No. 13, Andante (Arr. for Violin and Piano by Joseph Szigeti) 00:54
• 23 Bartók: For Children, BB 53, Sz.42: Book II No. 38, Poco vivace 00:57
• Román népi táncok, BB 68, Sz. 56:
• 24 Bartók: Román népi táncok, BB 68, Sz. 56: I. Joc cu bâta 01:14
• 25 Bartók: Román népi táncok, BB 68, Sz. 56: II. Brâul 00:27
• 26 Bartók: Román népi táncok, BB 68, Sz. 56: III. Pe loc 00:59
• 27 Bartók: Román népi táncok, BB 68, Sz. 56: IV. Buciumeana 01:18
• 28 Bartók: Román népi táncok, BB 68, Sz. 56: V. Poarga româneasca 00:30
• 29 Bartók: Román népi táncok, BB 68, Sz. 56: VI. Marunte 00:55
• Total Runtime 01:18:07

Info for Bartók: Works for Violin and Piano, Vol. 2

James Ehnes has previously explored Béla Bartók’s concertos for violin and for viola, to great acclaim. This disc is the second in his equally successful survey of Bartók’s chamber music for the violin. His accompanist, once more, is Andrew Armstrong, a pianist praised by critics for his passionate expression and dazzling technique.

The folk-inspired Sonata for Solo Violin was the last work that Bartók wrote for the instrument, not to mention the most challenging. In a departure from his usual practice, this work was written not for a fellow Hungarian, but rather for an artist born in New York where Bartók was now living: Yehudi Menuhin. Suitably impressed by a recital performance by Menuhin of his first Violin Sonata as well as Bach’s Sonata in C, he had no hesitation in accepting the violinist’s commission for a sonata that, like Bach’s, would be unaccompanied.

Almost half a century earlier, Bartók had written his Sonata for Violin and Piano in E minor. It was included in a concert given by graduating students of the Liszt Academy in June 1903, when a critic, most likely not realising just how right he would prove, hailed Bartók as ‘a phenomenal young genius, whose name today is known only to a few, but who is destined to play a great and brilliant role in the history of Hungarian music’.

Additionally on this disc we have three groups of Bartók’s Romanian and Hungarian folk dances, folksongs, and folk tunes, arranged for violin variously by Zoltán Székely, Tivadar Országh, and Joseph Szigeti, often with direct involvement by the composer himself who helped fine-tune the new arrangements. James Ehnes also highlights the Romanian influences in Bartók’s Sonatina for piano, transcribed for violin by André Gertler, a student of Bartók’s.

"Needless to say, the score [of the Solo Sonata] holds no terrors for Ehnes who delivers a magisterial performance...Ehnes and his excellent pianist, Andrew Armstrong, make the best possible case for reappraising the early Violin Sonata of 1903, dismissed by the composer as a mere apprentice work." (BBC Music Magazine)

"Ehnes gives a stunning account of the Solo Sonata. The impression is that he's simply following all Bartok's meticulous direction...and adding nothing extra. If this seems boring, the effect is anything but: clarity of articulation, beauty of sound, the ease with which he surmounts the technical challenges, and deep understanding of the work's structure and character; all these combine to make a performance that's exciting and enthralling." (Gramophone Magazine)

James Ehnes, violin
Andrew Armstrong, piano

James Ehnes
Known for his virtuosity and probing musicianship, violinist James Ehnes has performed in over 35 countries on five continents, appearing regularly in the world’s great concert halls and with many of the most celebrated orchestras and conductors.

In the 2016-2017 season James continues his cross-Canada recital tour in celebration of his 40th birthday, performs the complete Bach Sonatas and Partitas in Stresa, Montreux, Los Angeles, Liverpool, and Amsterdam, and joins the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra on a tour of China and the National Arts Centre Orchestra on a tour of Eastern Canada. James also holds artist residencies with the Melbourne Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, l’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, and the Scotia Festival, undertakes two tours with the Ehnes Quartet, and leads the winter and summer festivals of the Seattle Chamber Music Society, where he is the Artistic Director.

New and upcoming CD releases include a disc of works by Debussy, Respighi, Elgar and Sibelius as well as a recording of Beethoven’s Sonatas Nos. 6 and 9 with pianist Andrew Armstrong, the Sibelius and Schubert “Death and the Maiden” quartets with the Ehnes Quartet, and the complete works of Beethoven for violin and orchestra with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Andrew Manze. His recordings have been honored with many international awards and prizes, including a GRAMMY, a Gramophone, and 11 JUNO Awards.

James Ehnes was born in 1976 in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada. He began violin studies at the age of four, and at age nine became a protégé of the noted Canadian violinist Francis Chaplin. He studied with Sally Thomas at the Meadowmount School of Music and from 1993 to 1997 at The Juilliard School, winning the Peter Mennin Prize for Outstanding Achievement and Leadership in Music upon his graduation. Mr. Ehnes first gained national recognition in 1987 as winner of the Grand Prize in Strings at the Canadian Music Competition. The following year he won the First Prize in Strings at the Canadian Music Festival, the youngest musician ever to do so. At age 13, he made his major orchestral solo debut with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal.

He has won numerous awards and prizes, including the first-ever Ivan Galamian Memorial Award, the Canada Council for the Arts’ Virginia Parker Prize, and a 2005 Avery Fisher Career Grant. James has received honorary doctorates from Brandon University and the University of British Columbia and in 2007 he became the youngest person ever elected as a Fellow to the Royal Society of Canada. In 2010 the Governor General of Canada appointed James a Member of the Order of Canada, and in 2013 he was named an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music, limited to a select group of 300 living distinguished musicians.

James Ehnes plays the "Marsick" Stradivarius of 1715. He currently lives in Bradenton, Florida with his family.

This album contains no booklet.