Grieg: The Violin Sonatas, Op. 8, Op. 13 & Op. 45 Alexandra Soumm & David Kadouch

• Edvard Grieg (1843 - 1907): Sonata for Violin and Piano in F Major, Op. 8:
• 1 Sonata for Violin and Piano in F Major, Op. 8: I. Allegro con brio 09:25
• 2 Sonata for Violin and Piano in F Major, Op. 8: II. Allegretto quasi andantino - Più vivo - Tempo I 05:07
• 3 Sonata for Violin and Piano in F Major, Op. 8: III. Allegro molto vivace 09:17
• Sonata for Violin and Piano in G Major, Op. 13:
• 4 Sonata for Violin and Piano in G Major, Op. 13: I. Lento doloroso - Allegro vivace 08:39
• 5 Sonata for Violin and Piano in G Major, Op. 13: II. Allegretto tranquillo 06:42
• 6 Sonata for Violin and Piano in G Major, Op. 13: III. Allegro animato 05:23
• Sonata for Violin and Piano in C Minor, Op. 45:
• 7 Sonata for Violin and Piano in C Minor, Op. 45: I. Allegro molto ed appassionato 09:00
• 8 Sonata for Violin and Piano in C Minor, Op. 45: II. Allegretto espressivo alla Romanza - Allegro molto - Tempo I 06:09
• 9 Sonata for Violin and Piano in C Minor, Op. 45: III. Allegro animato 07:46
• Total Runtime 01:07:28

Info for Grieg: The Violin Sonatas, Op. 8, Op. 13 & Op. 45

Her 2008 recording of Paganini’s 1st Concerto and Bruch’s Concerto (Claves CD 50-2808) was a revelation.

Alexandra Soumm’s career has since taken off like a rocket. The young French violinist is back again with the most intimate of repertoires: Edvard Grieg’s three Sonatas; which she interprets with great finesse and confidence together with her kinsman David Kadouch. Three jewels; three stepping stones in the creative life of the Norwegian composer; who described them as a “trilogy” at the end of his life.

Indeed; Grieg himself gave a recital of them in Copenhagen in 1900 with violinist Wilma Neruda; thus reliving three periods of his life. He then remarked: “In the first; I was naive but full of ideas; in the second; I became a “nationalist”. In the third; I think I reached the essence of things”. But what strikes us; first and foremost today; is the resemblance between them; says Etienne Barilier in the presentation booklet. “From one to the other; virtually no time seems to have elapsed. These works are as similar as three sisters; united in the joy of singing: they all three exude a delicate; striking melodic perfume; which has not evaporated despite the years”.

Alexandra Soumm, violin
David Kadouch, piano

Alexandra Soumm
French violinist Alexandra Soumm is a multi-faceted artist who is equally at home in concerto and chamber repertoire. Highlights of her 2018-19 season include performing with the Haydn Orchestra of Bolzano and Trento, Orchestre Régional de Cannes, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Japan Century Symphony, and the Sapporo Symphony. She will appear in solo recitals in Auditorium du Louvre (Paris), Festival de musique de l'Orangerie de Sceaux with Ismaël Margain (Sceaux), Neauphle-le-Château, and three recitals with pianist Xiayin Wang in the San Francisco Bay area including Herbst Hall.

Alexandra has appeared in previous seasons with Bruckner Orchester Linz, Galicia Symphony, Danish National Symphony, NHK Symphony, Fort Worth Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, and the LA Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl among many others. Ms. Soumm has given recitals at the Auditorium du Louvre (Paris), Palais des Beaux Arts (Brussels), and Wigmore Hall (London) and has also appeared at the City of London Festival, and the festivals of Deauville, Schleswig-Holstein, Verbier, Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad and Varna. A passionate supporter of the newest generations of musicians, Ms. Soumm has loved her work with Youth Orchestra of the Americas, the Animato Foundation, the Sphinx Foundation, and Orchestre Français des Jeunes, and has maintained an involvement with the Seiji Ozawa International Academy in Switzerland for over 10 years.

Alexandra’s strongest ties are to France and England where she has ongoing relationships with many leading orchestras including Paris, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Lyon, Montpellier, and most of the BBC ensembles with whom she worked as former BBC 3 New Generation Artist and London Music Masters Awardee.

Born in Moscow, Alexandra started to learn the violin at the age of five and gave her first concert two years later. She later moved to Vienna to study with the renowned pedagogue Boris Kuschnir and won the Eurovision Competition in 2004. Now based in Paris, she, along with two friends, founded the non-profit organization Esperanz’Arts, whose goal is making the Arts in all its forms accessible to people in schools, hospitals, prisons and homeless shelters. Alexandra was named Godmother of El Sistema France. Passionate for teaching and communicating her artistry, she has given masterclasses in the United States, Venezuela, Brazil, UK, Japan, Israel, and Kenya. In 2018, she joined the Artistic and Pedagogical Committee of the Musica Mundi school, based in Belgium.

Alexandra Soumm is happy to work with contemporary composers, such as Christoph Ehrenfellner, who composed a string quartet and his second violin concerto for her, and Eric Tanguy, who composed a piece for soprano and piano, based on her poem “Cercle.”

Alexandra plays on a Gioffredo Cappa, made around 1700.

This album contains no booklet.