BaL 3.07.21 - Beethoven: Violin Sonata no. 9 in A major, Op 47 "Kreutzer"

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

9.30 Building a Library
Natasha Loges chooses her favourite recording of Beethoven's Violin Sonata No 9 in A major, Op 47, 'Kreutzer'.

Beethoven's Violin Sonata in A major, Op 47, more commonly known simply as the Kreutzer Sonata, is one of the most technically challenging pieces in the violin repertoire. Leo Tolstoy immortalised the work in his 1889 notorious and daring novella, The Kreutzer Sonata, which was promptly censored by the Russian authorities and, a year later, prohibited in newspapers in the USA.

Beethoven composed his Kreutzer Sonata in 1803 and originally dedicated it to his friend and leading virtuoso of the day, George Bridgetower. They premiered the work together in May 1803 at Vienna's Augarten Theatre, allegedly sight-reading the entire work. Shortly afterwards, the two men fell out and Beethoven changed the dedication to the French violin pedagogue, composer and conductor, Rudolphe Kreutzer. It is said that Kreutzer himself hated the sonata and refused to play it. The dedication, however, has remained.

It is a lengthy three-movement work in which a serene Andante with variations is bookended by two fiery outer movements.

Available versions:-

Doris Adam, Karin Adam *
Frank Almond, William Wolfram
Davide Amodio, Edoardo Torbianelli *
Ursula Bagdasarjanz, Bruno F. Saladin *
Kristóf Baráti, Klára Würtz
Renato de Barbieri, Tullio Macoggi *
Paul Barritt, James Lisney
Alban Beikircher, Mathias Huth *
Nina Beilina, Naum Starkman *
Alberto Bologni, Giuseppe Bruno *
Lina Tur Bonet, Aurelia Visovan
Adolf Busch, Rudolf Serkin
Renaud Capuçon, Frank Braley
Jonathan Carney, Ronan O’Hora (SACD)
Corey Cerovsek, Paavali Jumppanen
Jorja Fleezanis, Cyril Huvé
Andrew Dawes, Jane Coop *
Bruno Delepelaire, Quatuor Zaïde
Augustin Dumay, Maria João Pires
James Ehnes , Andrew Armstrong
Mischa Elman, Joseph Seiger *
Georges Enesco, Celiny Chailley-Richez
Isabelle Faust, Alexander Melnikov
Aldo Ferraresi, Ernesto Galdieri
Christian Ferras, Pierre Barbizet
Jorja Fleezanis, Cyril Huvé
Pierre Fouchenneret, Romain Descharmes
Zino Francescatti, Robert Casadesus
Zino Francescatti, Robert Casadesus (DVD)
Pamela Frank, Claude Frank
Joseph Fuchs, Artur Balsam
Lorenzo Gatto. Julien Libeer
Paolo Ghidoni, Marco Grisanti *
Szymon Goldberg, Lili Kraus
Ryu Goto, Michael Dussek *
Barbara Govatos, Marcantonio Barone
Erich Gruenberg, David Wilde
Arthur Grumiaux, Clara Haskil
Franco Gulli, Enrica Cavallo
Ida Haendel, Alfréd Holecek
Ida Haendel, Ilya Itin (DVD)
Chloë Hanslip, Danny Driver
Jascha Heifetz, Benno Moiseiwitsch
Jascha Heifetz, Brooks Smith *
Ragnhild Hemsing, Tor Espen Aspaas *
Ralph Holmes, Richard Burnett
Bronislaw Huberman, Ignaz Friedman
Benjamin Hudson, Mary Verney
Alina Ibragimova, Cédric Tiberghien *
Thomas Albertus Irnberger, Michael Korstick (SACD)
Thomas Albertus Irnberger, Michael Korstick (DVD/Blu-ray))
Jorgensen, Cullan Bryant *
Daishin Kashimoto, Konstantin Lifschitz *
Sarah Kapustin, Jeannette Koekkoek
Leonidas Kavakos, Enrico Pace *
Isabelle van Keulen, Hannes Minnaar
Leonid Kogan, Emil Gilels
Rudolf Kolisch, Gunnar Johanse*
Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Fazil Say *
Denes Kovacs, Mihaly Bacher *
Fritz Kreisler, Franz Rupp
Gidon Kremer, Martha Argerich
Georg Kulenkampf, Sir Georg Solti
Hiro Kurosaki, Linda Nicholson *
Catherine Leonard, Hugh Tinney
Tasmin Little, Martin Roscoe
Lorraine McAslan, John Blakely *
Robert Mann, Stephen Hough
Yehudi Menuhin, Idil Biret
Yehudi Menuhin, Wilhelm Kempff
Yehudi Menuhin, Louis Kentner
Yehudi Menuhin, Hephzibah Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin, Jeremy Menuhin *
Petr Messiereur, Stanislav Bogunia
Matthias Metzger, Gerrit Zitterbart
Nathan Milstein, Eugenio Bagnoli
Nathan Milstein, Artur Balsam
Nathan Milstein, Georges Pludermacher *
Nathan Milstein, Georges Pludermacher (DVD)
Viktoria Mullova, Kristian Bezuidenhout
Anne-Sophie Mutter, Lambert Orkis *
Anne-Sophie Mutter, Lambert Orkis (DVD)
Tatsuo Nishie, Giuseppe Andaloro *
Takako Nishizaki, Jeno Jando
Susanna Ogata, Ian Watson
David Oistrakh, Frida Bauer
David Oistrakh, Lev Oborin
Krysia Osostowicz, Daniel Tong
Tedi Papavrami, François-Frédéric Guy
Manoug Parikian, Magda Tagliaferro
Regis Pasquier, Jean-Claude Pennetier *
Florin Paul, Olaf Dressler *
Itzhak Perlman, Martha Argerich
Itzhak Perlman, Vladimir Ashkenazy
Miron Polyakin, Abram Dyakov *
Vadim Repin, Martha Argerich
Ruggiero Ricci, Eugenis Bagnoli
Aaron Rosand, Eileen Flissler
Max Rostal, Franz Osborn
Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Wilhelm Kempff *
Wolfgang Schneiderhan, Carl Seemann
Jaap Schröder, Jos Van Immerseel
Midori Seiler, Jos van Immerseel *
Mariko Senju, Yukio Yokoyama *
Peter Sheppard Skærved, Aaron Shorr
Sayaka Shoji, Gianluca Casciol *
Leon Spierer, Ernst Gro¨schel *
Steven Staryk, John Perry
Isaac Stern, Eugene Istomin *
Josef Suk, Jan Panenka
Karl Suske, Walter Olbertz
Henryk Szeryng, Gary Graffman
Henryk Szeryng, Ingrid Haebler
Henry Szerynk, Hans Richter-Haaser *
Henryk Szeryng, Arthur Rubinstein *
Joseph Szigeti, Claudio Arrau
Joseph Szigeti, Bela Bartok
Gerhard Taschner, Walter Gieseking *
Emil Telmányi, Victor Schiøler
Henri Temianka, Leonard Shure
Jean Ter-Merguerian, Pierre Barbizet
Jacques Thibaud, Alfred Cortot 19th June 2021
Richard Tognetti, Erin Helyard
Uto Ughi, Lamar Crowson
Maxim Vengerov, Itamar Golan *
Maxim Vengerov, Alexander Markovich
Emmy Verhey, Carlos Moerdijk *
Giocconda de Vito, Tito Aprea
Elizabeth Wallfisch, David Breitman
Sidney Weiss, Jeanne Weiss
Antje Weithaas, Camerata Berlin *
Endre Wolf, Antoinette Wolf
Tatsuya Yabe, Yukio Yokoyama *
Denes Zsigmondy, Anneliese Nissen *
Pinchas Zukerman, Daniel Barenboim
Pinchas Zukerman (violin), Marc Neikrug *

(* = download only)

[mikealdren]

Is the Oistrakh Bauer version nla?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Is the Oistrakh Bauer version nla?

Apparently it's still available new at a sensible price, so I've added it to the list.

[mikealdren]

Interesting to note the number of fine pianists included in these recordings. Martha Argerich appears 3 times and I'm listening to her recording with Repin, she is a major factor in making this a very special recording and adds far more than, say Franz Rupp for Kreisler.

[Bryn]

Interesting to note the number of fine pianists included in these recordings. Martha Argerich appears 3 times and I'm listening to her recording with Repin, she is a major factor in making this a very special recording and adds far more than, say Franz Rupp for Kreisler.

Always worth remembering that this, like the others, was a sonata for "piano and violin".

[vinteuil]

Always worth remembering that this, like the others, was a sonata for "piano and violin".

... yes indeed -

https://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=30668594316

.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Always worth remembering that this, like the others, was a sonata for "piano and violin".

This is so true. I thought about this as I listed the violinists alphabetically. Maybe next time I’ll prioritise the pianists.

[BBMmk2]

Couldn’t see Tasmin Little/Martian Roscoe’s recording.

[LMcD]

Couldn’t see Tasmin Little/Martian Roscoe’s recording.

Just checked - it is there!

[gurnemanz]

A quick check reveals that I have only "oldies" in my collection: Oistrakh/Oborin, Szigeti/Arrau, Grumiaux/Haskil, Stern/Istomin, Francescatti/Casadesus, Kreisler/Rupp. I suspect the BaL choice will be a more recent HIPPish version for which I might be a customer.

[Bryn]

A quick check reveals that I have only "oldies" in my collection: Oistrakh/Oborin, Szigeti/Arrau, Grumiaux/Haskil, Stern/Istomin, Francescatti/Casadesus, Kreisler/Rupp. I suspect the BaL choice will be a more recent HIPPish version for which I might be a customer.

For me, it's a toss-up between Jos van Immerseel/Midori Seiler and Alexander Melnikov/Isabelle Faust, though the older Jos van Immerseel/Jaap Schröder should not be overlooked.

[pastoralguy]

Glad to see the Temianka/Shure recordings listed. Well worth hearing. I’ve always been interested in this violinist’s work. His autobiography, ‘Facing the Music’ is a very interesting and funny read.

[pastoralguy]

I wonder if the arrangements for violin and orchestra will get a mention. I have the Weithaas/Camerata Bern disc which I’ve listened to once. Despite the cleverness of the arrangement and superb playing I’ve never felt the need to return to it.

[jayne lee wilson]

My latest is my greatest......(My 2020 review/thread is here ...http://www.for3.org/forums/showthrea...ght=lina+bonet

https://www.qobuz.com/gb-en/album/beethoven-sonatina-lunatica-violin-sonatas-nos-9-10-lina-tur-bonet-aurelia-visovan/gjxm5qjhdf52a

Otherwise, Seiler/Immerseel....

Got to know it and to love it, quite late.....Beethoven at his astounding greatest.
Iconic work personally and in Musical History....la sonate fantastique.....

[Darloboy]

Previous BaLs: May 92 (Lionel Salter) - 1st choice: Gruenberg/Wilde; mid-price choice: Suk/Panenka. Last covered prior to that by Christopher Headington in Nov 74 - well before my time so no idea what he recommended.

There was a "Recent releases of Beethoven Violin Sonatas" BaL in October 2010 presented by Ivan Hewett. Not a proper BaL in my view. He recommended the Mullova/Bezuidenhout coupling of Sonatas 3 & 9; and the Faust/Melnikov complete violin sonatas.