Renato Wiedemann: Roots. 20th Century Violin Sonatas from Brazil and Switzerland Renato Wiedemann & Marija Bokor

• Ernest Bloch (1880 - 1959): Baal Shem, B. 47:
• 1 Bloch: Baal Shem, B. 47: I. Vidui 03:12
• 2 Bloch: Baal Shem, B. 47: II. Nigun 06:35
• 3 Bloch: Baal Shem, B. 47: III. Simchas Torah 04:43
• Othmar Schoeck (1886 - 1957): Violin Sonata in D Major Op. 16:
• 4 Schoeck: Violin Sonata in D Major Op. 16: I. Nicht zu langsam 06:21
• 5 Schoeck: Violin Sonata in D Major Op. 16: II. Ruhig 05:19
• 6 Schoeck: Violin Sonata in D Major Op. 16: III. Allegro con spirito 05:36
• Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887 - 1959): Sonate-Fantaisie No. 1, W051 “Désespérance”:
• 7 Villa-Lobos: Sonate-Fantaisie No. 1, W051 “Désespérance” 09:13
• Ernst Widmer (1927 - 1990): Sonatina Op. 48:
• 8 Widmer: Sonatina Op. 48: I. Andante 04:49
• 9 Widmer: Sonatina Op. 48: II. Scherzo 00:45
• 10 Widmer: Sonatina Op. 48: III. Variação 04:51
• Mozart Camargo Guarneri (1907 - 1993): Violin Sonata No. 2:
• 11 Guarneri: Violin Sonata No. 2: I. Sem presso e bem ritmado 07:12
• 12 Guarneri: Violin Sonata No. 2: II. Profundamente terno 06:34
• 13 Guarneri: Violin Sonata No. 2: III. Impetuoso 04:43
• Total Runtime 01:09:53

Info for Renato Wiedemann: Roots. 20th Century Violin Sonatas from Brazil and Switzerland

Swiss violinist Renato Wiedemann has chosen a very personal theme for his debut album. As a dual Swiss-Brazilian citizen, he also wanted to reflect on his roots musically, and so the choice fell on a recording of 20th century violin sonatas from Switzerland and Brazil. The result is a special and unusual programme with works by Bloch, Schoeck, Villa-Lobos, Widmer and Camargo Guarnieri, in which he is wonderfully supported by his chamber music partner and friend, the pianist Marija Bokor.

Renato Wiedemann, violin
Marija Bokor, piano

Renato Wiedemann
began playing the violin at the age of eight in Birsfelden with Dölf Zinsstag. After three years he moved to Vincent Providoli at the Basel Music School and then to Emilie Haudenschild's violin class. From 2012 to 2015 he completed his bachelor's degree with Prof. Sebastian Hamann at the University of Music in Lucerne. Renato was also regularly taught there by Giuliano Carmignola. From October 2015 he studied at the University of Music and Theater (HfMT) in Hamburg with Prof. Christoph Schickedanz, where he completed his master's degree in performance in February 2019. As part of the refugee aid, Renato taught theory and violin at the HfMT. From September 2019 to July 2021, he deepened his training at the Lucerne University of Music with Igor Karsko and Clemens Heil and completed it with his second master's degree in major solo performance and a minor in conducting.

In 2015 he received a scholarship from the Friedl Wald-Stiftung Basel. Renato was concertmaster of the Junge Sinfoniker Basel until June 2012 and a member of the Swiss Youth Symphony Orchestra (SJSO) until 2014. From 2017 to 2019 Renato played with the Hamburger Symphoniker and in 2019 with the Nuremberg State Philharmonic. He is a co-founder of the Steiner Trio Basel and the Linden Quartet. He has been teaching at the Basel Music Academy since August 2023 and, together with the violinist Susanne Mathé, is the artistic director of the art classics basel chamber music festival.

He made his debut as a soloist in Basel and Reinach in 2012 with the Violin Concerto No. 8 “Singing Scenes” by Louis Spohr and in the same year with the 5th Violin Concerto KV 219 by W.A. Mozart in Riberāo Preto and Araraquara (Brazil). Since then he has appeared as a soloist in Switzerland and Brazil, among others in Sāo Paulo, Riberāo Preto and in Sāo Carlos with the Violin Concerto in D major by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi's Four Seasons, Saint-Saëns' Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, with the Violin Concerto in G minor by Max Bruch and at the KKL Lucerne as part of the soloist concerts with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra with the Violin Concerto op. 129 by Shostakovich.

Renato plays a violin made by the Neapolitan violin maker Nicolò Gagliano from 1750.

Marija Bokor
was born in 1992 in St.Gallen, Switzerland into a family of musicians. Surrounded by music from an early age, Marija began her piano studies when she was five years old with Emma Friedman, in the tradition of the Russian piano school.

She then studied in the class of Oliver Schnyder and received further training in masterclasses with professors such as Leon Fleisher, Menahem Pressler, Robert Levin amongst others. Marija graduated with a Soloist Diploma at the University of Lucerne in the class of Konstantin Lifschitz.

After winning several national and international first prizes, Marija was invited to play concerts in Europe, USA, Asia and Latin America.

She played with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra (ISR), thr Kärnter Symphony Orchestra (AUT), the Orquestra Jazz Sinfonica do Estado de Sao Paolo (BRA), the Tianjik Symphony Orchestra (CHN), the Hradec Kralove Pholharmony (CZE), the Cukurova State Symphony (TUR), thr Arpeggione Chamber Orchestra (AUT), and the Endless Mountain Music Festival Orchestra (USA).

2013 she won the Swiss Prize by Migros Kultur Prozentstiftung and 2017 the Schenk Soloist Competition. After that she was invited to play with the argovia philharmonic (CH) and Marc Kissoczy. In June 2018 Marija played Tschaikovsky first piano concerto in the KKL Lucerne with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra and James Gaffigan.

In Spring 2021 Marija recorded her Debut CD in co-operation with with Radio SRF 2 Kultur. The album is featuring works by Bartòk, Vaughan Williams and Yusupov and will be published by the label Prospero Classical in 2022.

Booklet for Renato Wiedemann: Roots. 20th Century Violin Sonatas from Brazil and Switzerland