Bartók: Works for Violin and Piano, Vol. 3 James Ehnes, Amy Schwartz Moretti, Michael Collins & Andrew Armstrong

• Béla Bartók (1881 - 1945): Contrasts, BB 116:
• 1 Contrasts, BB 116: I. Verbunkos. Moderato, ben ritmato (Recruiting Dance) 05:06
• 2 Contrasts, BB 116: II. Pihenő. Lento (Relaxation) 04:26
• 3 Contrasts, BB 116: III. Sebes. Allegro vivace (Fast Dance) 06:41
• André Gertler (1907 - 1998), Béla Bartók: Violin Sonatina, BB 102a:
• 4 Violin Sonatina, BB 102a: I. Dudasok. Allegretto (Bagpipers) [Version by A. Gertier] 01:30
• 5 Violin Sonatina, BB 102a: II. Medvetanc. Moderato (Bear Dance) [Version by A. Gertier] 00:40
• 6 Violin Sonatina, BB 102a: III. Finale. Allegro vivace (Version by A. Gertier) 02:07
• Béla Bartók: 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 1:
• 7 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 1: No. 1, Parosito (Teasing Song) 00:59
• 8 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 1: No. 2, Kalamajko (Dance) 00:40
• 9 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 1: No. 3, Menuetto 01:00
• 10 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 1: No. 4, Szentivánéji (Midsummer Night Song) 00:53
• 11 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 1: No. 5, Tót nóta I (Slovakian Song) 00:58
• 12 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 1: No. 6, Magyar nóta I (Hungarian Song) 00:56
• 13 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 1: No. 7, Oláh nóta (Walachian Song) 00:46
• 14 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 1: No. 8, Tót nóta II (Slovakian Song) 00:57
• 15 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 1: No. 9, Játék (Play Song) 00:44
• 16 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 1: No. 10, Rutén nóta (Ruthenian Song) 01:04
• 17 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 1: No. 11, Gyermekrengetéskor (Cradle Song) 01:16
• 18 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 1: No. 12, Szénagyüjtéskor (Hay Song) 00:55
• 19 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 1: No. 13, Lakodalmas (Wedding song) 01:30
• 20 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 1: No. 14, Párnás tánc (Pillow Dance) 00:56
• 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 2:
• 21 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 2: No. 15, Katonanóta (Soldiers' Song) 01:03
• 22 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 2: No. 16, Burleszk (Burlesque) 00:59
• 23 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 2: No. 17, Menetelő nóta I (Hungarian March) 00:46
• 24 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 2: No. 18, Menetelő nóta II (Hungarian March) 00:45
• 25 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 2: No. 19, Mese (Fairy Tale) 01:07
• 26 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 2: No. 20, Dal (A Rhythm Song) 01:27
• 27 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 2: No. 21, Újévköszöntő I (New Year's Greeting) 02:07
• 28 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 2: No. 22, Szunyogtánc (Mosquito Dance) 00:41
• 29 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 2: No. 23, Mennyasszonybúcsútató (Bride's Farewell) 01:20
• 30 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 2: No. 24, Tréfás nóta (Comic Song) 00:45
• 31 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 2: No. 25, Magyar nóta II (Hungarian Song) 00:57
• 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 3:
• 32 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 3: No. 26, "Ugyan édes komámasszony..." (Teasing Song) 00:30
• 33 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 3: No. 27, Sánta-tanc (Limping Dance) 00:33
• 34 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 3: No. 28, Bánkódás (Sorrow) 02:18
• 35 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 3: No. 29, Újévköszöntő II (New Year's Greeting) 00:43
• 36 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 3: No. 30, Újévköszöntő III (New Year's Greeting) 00:51
• 37 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 3: No. 31, Újévköszöntő IV (New Year's Greeting) 00:41
• 38 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 3: No. 32, Máramarosi tánc (Dance from Máramaros) 00:43
• 39 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 3: No. 33, Aratáskor (Harvest Song) 01:31
• 40 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 3: No. 34, Számláló nóta (Enumerating Song) 00:57
• 41 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 3: No. 35, Rutén kolomejka (Ruthenian Kolomejka) 01:03
• 42 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 3: No. 36, Szól a duda (Bagpipes) 00:55
• 43 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 3: No. 36, Szol a duda, változata (Bagpipes, Variation) 01:05
• 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 4:
• 44 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 4: No. 37, Preludium és kanon (Prelude and Canon) 02:40
• 45 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 4: No. 38, Forgatós (Romanian Whirling Dance) 00:42
• 46 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 4: No. 39, Szerb tánc (Serbian Dance) 00:49
• 47 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 4: No. 40, Oláh tánc (Walachian Dance) 00:49
• 48 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 4: No. 41, Scherzo 00:51
• 49 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 4: No. 42, Arab dal (Arabian Song) 01:16
• 50 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 4: No. 43, Pizzicato 01:13
• 51 44 Duos for 2 Violins, BB 104, Vol. 4: No. 44, Erdélyi tánc (Transylvanian Dance) 01:51
• Total Runtime 01:08:02

Info for Bartók: Works for Violin and Piano, Vol. 3

James Ehnes has previously explored Béla Bartók’s concertos for violin and for viola, to great acclaim. This disc is the second in his equally successful survey of Bartók’s chamber music for the violin. His accompanist, once more, is Andrew Armstrong, a pianist praised by critics for his passionate expression and dazzling technique.

The folk-inspired Sonata for Solo Violin was the last work that Bartók wrote for the instrument, not to mention the most challenging. In a departure from his usual practice, this work was written not for a fellow Hungarian, but rather for an artist born in New York where Bartók was now living: Yehudi Menuhin. Suitably impressed by a recital performance by Menuhin of his first Violin Sonata as well as Bach’s Sonata in C, he had no hesitation in accepting the violinist’s commission for a sonata that, like Bach’s, would be unaccompanied.

Almost half a century earlier, Bartók had written his Sonata for Violin and Piano in E minor. It was included in a concert given by graduating students of the Liszt Academy in June 1903, when a critic, most likely not realising just how right he would prove, hailed Bartók as ‘a phenomenal young genius, whose name today is known only to a few, but who is destined to play a great and brilliant role in the history of Hungarian music’.

Additionally on this disc we have three groups of Bartók’s Romanian and Hungarian folk dances, folksongs, and folk tunes, arranged for violin variously by Zoltán Székely, Tivadar Országh, and Joseph Szigeti, often with direct involvement by the composer himself who helped fine-tune the new arrangements. James Ehnes also highlights the Romanian influences in Bartók’s Sonatina for piano, transcribed for violin by André Gertler, a student of Bartók’s.

"Needless to say, the score [of the Solo Sonata] holds no terrors for Ehnes who delivers a magisterial performance...Ehnes and his excellent pianist, Andrew Armstrong, make the best possible case for reappraising the early Violin Sonata of 1903, dismissed by the composer as a mere apprentice work." (BBC Music Magazine)

"Ehnes gives a stunning account of the Solo Sonata. The impression is that he's simply following all Bartok's meticulous direction...and adding nothing extra. If this seems boring, the effect is anything but: clarity of articulation, beauty of sound, the ease with which he surmounts the technical challenges, and deep understanding of the work's structure and character; all these combine to make a performance that's exciting and enthralling." (Gramophone Magazine)

James Ehnes, violin
Andrew Armstrong, piano

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