Album

The opening release in a series covering all of Beethoven's sonatas for violin and piano, this disc includes the two biggies, the Violin Sonata in A major, Op. 47, "Kreutzer," and the Violin Sonata in G major, Op. 96. The series is among the few recordings of Beethoven's violin sonatas to be played on historical instruments: an 1812 Viennese fortepiano and a violin of 1801 from Viennese maker Geissenhof that is doubly a period instrument; it was a copy of an Amati and was one of the first violins to be based on a historical model. Violinist Hiro Kurosaki also uses a period bow and writes that "It is only with such a bow that Beethoven's very precise dynamic and marcato markings in the first, and the dotted rhythms in the last movement [of the "Kreutzer" sonata], can be realized." This gives you an idea of the flavor of these performances, which are detailed and generally low-key. Linda Nicholson's fortepiano, which has a strong bass register, isn't of the sort to startle those used to modern pianos; like other fortepianos it has minimal sustain, and it is, like the violin, generally precise. What emerges are careful, rather subdued performances that will be of great interest to listeners making close studies of these scores. The Op. 96 Sonata fares quite well, with a distinctive reading that uncovers lots of contrapuntal details and strips away the gauzy "transcendence" that the Romantics attached to Beethoven's later works and leaves calm, simple music that hangs in the mind. The "Kreutzer" Sonata incorporates certain changes from the modern editions that are generally used (the changes are based on early editions of the music); listeners will hear these along with many other fine points, but some will wish for a bit more punch and epic sweep. The sound is clear, and the booklet essay quite informative; the premiere of the "Kreutzer" Sonata by a black violinist and Beethoven's subsequent rechristening of the work as a "Sonata mulattica" is an episode omitted depressingly often from standard chronicles.

© James Manheim, All Music Guide

CD 1
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Violin Sonata No.9 in A, Op.47 ('Kreutzer') Work 36:09 Linda Nicholson Piano (Forte), Johann Fritz Piano (Forte), Hiro Kurosaki Violin
1	1.Adagio sostenuto. Presto	13:19			$2.49
2	2.Andante con variazioni	14:07			$2.49
3	3.Finale: Presto	8:43			$1.49
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Violin Sonata No.10 in G, Op.96 ('The Cockcrow') Work 24:46 Linda Nicholson Piano (Forte), Johann Fritz Piano (Forte), Hiro Kurosaki Violin
4	1.Allegro moderato	9:42			$1.49
5	2.Adagio espressivo (attaca)	5:38			$0.99
6	3.Scherzo: Allegro	1:42			$0.99
7	4.Poco allegretto	7:44			$1.49