Isabelle van Keulen and Hannes Minnaar – Beethoven: Complete Sonatas For Piano and Violin (2014) [SACD / Challenge Classics – CC72650]

Title: Isabelle van Keulen and Hannes Minnaar – Beethoven: Complete Sonatas For Piano and Violin (2014)
Genre: Classical
Format: MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

This four-disc hybrid SACD set presents the complete works for piano and violin of Ludwig van Beethoven. The performers are the critically-acclaimed Dutch violinist Isabelle van Keuelen and the talented young compatriot, pianist Hannes Minnaar. This is very enjoyable performances and recording by two outstanding young artists.

The original title given to the first edition of Beethoven’s Sonata No. 9 opus 47 known as the Kreutzer Sonata, refers to the piece as a work for “pianoforte with violin obligato”. This clearly shows Beethoven’s revolutionary thinking on priorities as regards the piano-violin combination, a reflection it would seem of the fact that the composer saw the music as a vehicle for his own virtuoso skills on the keyboard. The first eight violin sonatas, opus 12, nos.1-3, opus 23 and 24, and opus 30, nos.1-3, were composed between 1798 and 1802, but then, after composing the “Kreutzer” Sonata in 1803 he set the genre aside until 1812, the year in which the opus 96 sonata in G major was written. Isabelle van Keulen has an established reputation as a violinist and viola player of world-class stature. Over the last few years she has released recordings on Challenge Classics with the pianist Ronald Brautigam of music by Shostakovich, Richard Strauss, Respighi and Rota, Grieg, Elgar and Sibelius, Prokofiev, and with her own Isabelle van Keulen Ensemble, Piazzolla (Tango!). Hannes Minnaar made his debut with the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Alessandro de Marchi at the age of 17. Since then he has performed with many leading orchestras including the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, and the Royal Flemish Philharmonic, and worked with conductors such as Marin Alsop, Herbert Blomstedt, and Frans Brüggen. In 2013 he made his first solo appearance with The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in a performance of Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto. Hannes Minnaar is also active as a chamber musician and is a member of the award-winning Van Baerle Trio.

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Tracklist:

Disc 1
01. Sonata No. 1 in D major op. 12/1: Allegro con brio
02. Sonata No. 1 in D major op. 12/1: Tema con variazioni: Andante con moto
03. Sonata No. 1 in D major op. 12/1: Rondo: Allegro
04. Sonata No. 2 in A major op. 12/2: Allegro vivace
05. Sonata No. 2 in A major op. 12/2: Andante, più tosto allegretto
06. Sonata No. 2 in A major op. 12/2: Allegro piacevole
07. Sonata No. 3 in E-flat major op. 12/3: Allegro con spirito
08. Sonata No. 3 in E-flat major op. 12/3: Adagio con molta espressione
09. Sonata No. 3 in E-flat major op. 12/3: Rondo: Allegro molto

Disc 2
01. Sonata No. 4 in a minor op. 23: Presto
02. Sonata No. 4 in a minor op. 23: Andante scherzoso, più allegretto
03. Sonata No. 4 in a minor op. 23: Allegro molto
04. Sonata No. 5 in F major op. 24: Allegro
05. Sonata No. 5 in F major op. 24: Adagio molto espressivo
06. Sonata No. 5 in F major op. 24: Scherzo: Allegro molto
07. Sonata No. 5 in F major op. 24: Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo
08. Sonata No. 6 in A major op. 30/1: Allegro
09. Sonata No. 6 in A major op. 30/1: Adagio molto espressivo
10. Sonata No. 6 in A major op. 30/1: Allegretto con variazioni

Disc 3
01. Sonata No. 7 in c minor op. 30/2: Allegro con brio
02. Sonata No. 7 in c minor op. 30/2: Adagio cantabile
03. Sonata No. 7 in c minor op. 30/2: Scherzo: Allegro
04. Sonata No. 7 in c minor op. 30/2: Finale: Allegro: Presto
05. Sonata No. 8 in G major op. 30/3: Allegro assai
06. Sonata No. 8 in G major op. 30/3: Tempo di minuetto, ma molto moderato e grazioso
07. Sonata No. 8 in G major op. 30/3: Allegro vivace
08. Sonata No. 10 in G major op. 96: Allegro moderato
09. Sonata No. 10 in G major op. 96: Adagio espressivo
10. Sonata No. 10 in G major op. 96: Scherzo: Allegro
11. Sonata No. 10 in G major op. 96: Poco allegretto

Disc 4
01. Sonata No. 9 in A minor op. 47: Adagio sostenuto – Presto – Adagio
02. Sonata No. 9 in A minor op. 47: Andante con variazioni
03. Sonata No. 9 in A minor op. 47: Presto

Personnel:

Isabelle van Keulen – violin
Hannes Minnaar – piano

Note:

Recorded on August 30, 2014 – September 5, 2014 at The Motor Music Studios in Mechelen, Belgium.
DSD Recording. Engineered, Edited & Mastered by Steven Maes.

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