Charles Ives - Violin Sonatas (Hilary Hahn; Valentina Lisitsa)

Information

Composer: Charles Ives

• (01) Violin Sonata No. 1
• (04) Violin Sonata No. 2
• (07) Violin Sonata No. 3
• (10) Violin Sonata No. 4 "Children's Day at the Camp Meeting"

Hilary Hahn, violin
Valentina Lisitsa, piano

Date: 2011
Labe; Deutsche Grammophon
http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en/cat/4779435

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Review

In addition to fine program notes by our former colleague Robert Kirzinger, Hillary Hahn writes about her and her duo partner’s experiences learning and playing Ives sonatas. In two pages, Hahn says more about learning and performing Ives, and about performing music in general, than I have seen in any book. I would quote her entire essay, except that you are going to buy this disc and so can read it yourself. “A piece of music eventually has to get onstage, in front of audiences, for its performers to see its true colors.” After taking the Third Sonata around the world: “The more we played it for various audiences, the more the details and refinements Ives wrote into his score became ingrained into our musical consciousness, and the freer we became to explore additional expressive possibilities.”

I think of Hahn as a very “classical” artist, although she plays and has recorded everything from J. S. Bach to Jennifer Higdon. Her tone here is very clean and a touch dry, without a drop of romantic syrup—which would not be out of place in Ives’s sonatas. Her playing suggests the word “honesty,” fully appropriate for Ives, the Yankee traditionalist/iconoclast. Kirzinger this time: “Combining the classical tradition of Brahms and Beethoven with the vibrant, self-reliant spirit of an optimistic, growing, still-young United States …” Hahn and Valentina Lisitsa lean toward the masters but do not shortchange the Americanisms; they just make sure that the popular elements do not take over. At first hearing, these performances sound a bit conservative, but they wear well, no doubt for just that reason.

Returning to a favorite set by Gregory Fulkerson and Robert Shannon, we find more emotion, more heart-on-sleeve playing, and it works very well. But Fulkerson’s intonation is inconsistent and his tone runs to edginess. It is Shannon who provides the depth and clarity on that Bridge set; he emerges as more than a full partner. Lisitsa is by no means a cipher; she and Hahn have obviously come to full agreement—they play as one, each taking the lead as the music requires. Fulkerson’s tempi sound just right (well, I am used to them); Hahn is considerably faster in all but one of the 12 movements (a total timing of 66:24 to Fulkerson’s 79:52), and yet her performances never seem rushed. Deutsche Grammophon provides fine sound from Clubhouse, a recording studio in Rhinebeck, New York. While I won’t discard Fulkerson/Shannon, I have no hesitation recommending Hahn/Lisitsa as a first choice for this wonderful music.

-- James H. North, FANFARE

More reviews:
http://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/ives-violin-sonatas-nos-1-4
http://www.thestrad.com/review/ives-violin-sonatas-nos-1-4/

http://classicalcdreview.com/8202.html
http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/Review/293525,ives-violin-sonatas-nos-1-4-hilary-hahn-valentina-lisitsa.aspx

http://www.allmusic.com/album/charles-ives-four-sonatas-mw0002216875

http://www.amazon.com/Ives-Four-Sonatas-Hilary-Hahn/dp/B005DWX9YO

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Charles Ives (October 20, 1874 – May 19, 1954) was an American composer. He is one of the first American composers of international renown.and regarded as an "American original", though his music was largely ignored during his life. He combined the American popular and church-music traditions of his youth with European art music, and was among the first composers to engage in a systematic program of experimental music, with musical techniques including polytonality, polyrhythm, tone clusters, aleatoric elements, and quarter tones, foreshadowing many musical innovations of the 20th century.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Ives

***

Hilary Hahn (born November 27, 1979) is an American violinist. In her active international career she has performed throughout the world both as a soloist with leading orchestras and conductors and as a recitalist. She also has built a reputation for championing contemporary music. Several composers have written works specially for her, including concerti by Edgar Meyer and Jennifer Higdon. She has released 16 albums on the Deutsche Grammophon and Sony labels, in addition to three DVDs, an Oscar-nominated movie soundtrack, an award-winning recording for children, and various compilations.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilary_Hahn

***

Valentina Lisitsa (born 11 December 1973) is a Ukrainian-American virtuoso pianist.Lisitsa is among the most frequently viewed pianists on YouTube – particularly of her recordings of Romantic Era virtuoso piano composers – including Franz Liszt, Frédéric Chopin and Sergei Rachmaninoff. Lisitsa independently launched the beginnings of her career via social media, without initially signing to a tour promoter or record company. Lisitsa has received criticism for her opposition to the Ukrainian government and support to pro-Russian separatists since the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine and the ensuing armed conflict.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentina_Lisitsa

-------------------------------------------------------------------

FLAC, tracks

Links in comment

Enjoy!