Solo, Volume 1

Bach, Johann Sebastian, Paganini, Niccolo, Ysaye, Eugene

Baranov, Andrey

MU-039

The Golden Violin, Andrey Baranov’s first solo disc, received an excellent welcome and was hailed by the press for “his flamboyant virtuosity, his imagination, his sense of drama, limitless instrumental mastery, a sensitivity that can reach the state of grace”.

The Russian violinist today launches the first part of an exploration of the solo violin repertory, tackling some of the greatest and most beautiful pieces of three composers who, in the course of three successive centuries, became masters of violin writing: Bach, Paganini and Ysaÿe.

The Sonatas and Partitas of Bach are fundamental works that push back the boundaries of the instrument, a summit of the repertory that is revolutionary in its dramatic impact; they show the composer’s suffering and solitude, yet also convey hope and the vital force.

The Sonatas by Ysaÿe portray the evolution of violin techniques and music of early twentieth-century, giving new credentials of nobility to solo violin music. The third Sonata, with its fantastical and rhapsodic lyricism, seems to acquire orchestral force from the variety of its colours and the richness of its polyphony.

Between the two, Paganini undoubtedly pushed the virtuosity of his instrument to extreme limits. His 24 Caprices are gems of character and form so many brilliant concertos as much as transcendental studies. Andrey Baranov has chosen to record seven of these Caprices; the First Prize of the Queen Elisabeth Competition 2012 concludes his recital with the staggering No. 24, and thus ends in the finest manner a programme covering three centuries of violinistic modernity.

CD x 1

Muso

31.08.2020

5425019973391

ICMA 'Nominee' (2020)