Valdimarsdottir -Voice of the Viola in Times of Oppression -ZEFIR RECORDS CD Grooves.land/Playthek

Details / Tracklist:

1. WEINBERG: SONATA FOR VIOLA AND PIANO OP.28 (1945) ALLEGRO
2. WEINBERG: SONATA FOR VIOLA AND PIANO OP.28 (1945) ALLEGRETTO
3. WEINBERG: SONATA FOR VIOLA AND PIANO OP.28 (1945) ADAGIO
4. KATTENBURG: SONATA FOR VIOLA AND PIANO (1944) ALLEGRO MODERA
5. VREDENBURG: LAMENTO (1953)
6. SHOSTAKOVICH: SONATA FOR VIOLA & PIANO OP.147 (1975) MODERAT
7. SHOSTAKOVICH: SONATA FOR VIOLA & PIANO OP.147 (1975) ALLEGRE
8. SHOSTAKOVICH: SONATA FOR VIOLA & PIANO OP.147 (1975) ADAGIO

Number of discs:

Description:

"The viola is surely not the most assertive instrument among the string family. It reaches neither the extreme height of the violin nor the rumbling depth and the strength of the cello and contrabass. Its role is more integrating than leading or polarising; and in brilliance, maneuverability and sound projection the violin wins hands down. But if a composer wants to express his feelings with maximum intensity and depth, he chooses the viola remarkably often. The loss of a loved one, a repressive political system, persecution and war were more than once the motivation for the composing of music with the viola as the most important voice for expressing the underlying emotions. The dark, somewhat veiled sound of the instrument makes it particularly suited to such a role. On this CD, the first of two, we have recorded a number of compositions for viola and piano in which oppression, both personal and political, has played, directly or indirectly, an unmistakable role." Marcel Worms - WEINBERG/KATTENBURG/VREDENBURG/SHOSTAKOVICH

The viola is surely not the most assertive instrument among the string family. It reaches neither the extreme height of the violin nor the rumbling depth and the strength of the cello and contrabass. It's role is more integrating than leading or polarizing; and in brilliance, maneuverability and sound projection the violin wins hands down. But if a composer wants to express his feelings with maximum intensity and depth, he chooses the viola remarkably often. The loss of a loved one, a repressive political system, persecution and war were more than once the motivation for the composing of music with the viola as the most important voice for expressing the underlying emotions. The dark, somewhat veiled sound of the instrument makes it particularly suited to such a role. The Polish-Russian Jewish composer Mieczyslaw Weinberg fled during the Nazi invasion. Dick Kattenburg was picked up in 1944 during a razzia and he died, only 24 years old, in Auschwitz. Max Vredenburg, being a Jewish artist, fled from the Nazis in 1941 to Indonesia but was there interned in a camp. Shostakovich's Sonata for viola and piano was his last composition. Notwithstanding that the pressures of the Soviet regime on the composer did not lead to his banishment or even his liquidation, the last stages of Shostakovich's life were far from uncomplicated. In all of these works, we see the viola utilized as the outlet of their suffering.

CD in 4-panel digipak with 12-page booklet. Recorded at the Zeeuwse Concertzaal, Middelburg, February 17 and 18, March 16 2018. Mixed and edited by Concertstudio (NL). Viola: Giovanni Pistucci, Napoli ca 1930 Piano: Steinway D Mieczys?aw Weinberg (1919-1996) Sonata for viola and piano op. 28 (1945) Dick Kattenburg (1919-1944) Sonata for viola and piano (1944) Max Vredenburg (1904-1976) Lamento (1953) Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) Sonata for viola and piano op. 147 (1975) Total time: 64'37

Manufacturer No.:

ZEF9657

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