Sonata for Violin Solo No. 1 in G minor Op. 27

Fugato. Molto moderato


  • Recorded: 17th January 2023
  • Record Place: Domovina Studio
  • First Release: 2023
  • (P) 2023 SUPRAPHON a.s.
  • Genre: Chamber Music

Artists

  • music by: Eugène Ysaÿe
  • violin: Daniel Matejča

Album

Daniel Matejča

Ysaÿe: Six Sonatas for Solo Violin

Catalogue Number: SU 4313-2
Published: 21st April 2023
Genre: Chamber Music
Format: 1 CD
Eugène Ysaÿe (1858-1931) – Six Sonatas for Solo Violin, Op. 27 (1923). Released to mark the centenary of the work. Jana Vöröšová (b. 1980) – Obsession II (inspired by Eugène Ysayë’s sonatas, and composed for the present recording)

Daniel Matejča – violin (Joseph Gagliano Filius, 1776)

“The artist's first task is to forget himself.” This statement, bold in its time, has been ascribed to Eugène Ysaÿe, referred to as the “King of the Violin”, who as a composer and performer considerably contributed to the modernisation of violin playing. In 1923, he was so deeply impressed by J. S. Bach’s Violin Sonata No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001, as performed by Joseph Szigeti, that within a few hours (!) he sketched a set of six sonatas as a counterpart to Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas, BWV 1001-1006. Ysaÿe dedicated each of his sonatas to a superb contemporary violinist, tailoring it to his style. Technically reaching the limits of the instrument, the pieces placed enormous requirements on the dedicatees (Szigeti, Thibaud, Enescu, Kreisler, Crickboom, Quiroga), yet they remain challenging for the violinists of today. One hundred years after Ysaÿe created the set of six sonatas, this formidable task has been undertaken by the outstanding young Czech virtuoso Daniel Matejča, the winner of the Eurovision Young Musicians competition (2022), Telemann Violin Competition (Poznan 2020) and Jugend musiziert (Halle 2019). Matejča studied with such distinguished violinists as Boris Belkin and Christian Tetzlaff, and, after collaborating to acclaim with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, has been invited to perform with other renowned orchestras. Supraphon has shifted the 100-year-old concept to the 21st century and commissioned a composition that would reflect Ysaÿe’s sonatas, as well as young violinists’ musicality and virtuosity. Jana Vöröšová’s Obsession II is both answer and challenge.

Ysaÿe’s sonatas – a cherished challenge for the young virtuoso Daniel Matejča

Reviews

“Young Czech Daniel Matejča, winner of Eurovision Young Musician 2022, picks up the baton for the next generation in this bold, impressive set. In general, Matejča favours clarity over fantasy, swinging into the opening G minor Sonata with penetrating focus and a well-controlled line… Matejča’s ‘Malinconia’ is poignant in its sheer simplicity, and there's a heroic glitter to the ‘Les furies’ finale.”
BBC Music Magazine, June 2023

“Still only a teenager, the Czech violinist Daniel Matejča has already won a number of prestigious music competitions. His set of the Sonatas is very clearly focused, brilliant yet never flashy… In the Ballade Third Sonata, he seems acutely mindful of the music’s heated emotional climate and potentially wide dynamic range… He also does wonderfully well by the Kreislerian Fourth Sonata’s finale, with its carpal twists and turns.”
Gramophone, September 2023

“The standout of the three is Czech teenager (b. 2005) Daniel Matejca’s. He is strikingly beautiful of tone and fine of balance (in the innumerable double-stops, each string gets equal weight)… All three recordings are excellent on the technical side, with differences as noted… But I’d still go with Matejca, for the sheer beauty of sound and delivery.”
American Record Guide, August 2023

“Daniel Matejca, a mere 18 years old, is far beyond his years in technical prowess and his gifts of musical interpretation… I was struck by the clarity of tone, and as I studied the score along with the recording, I was amazed at how, well, musical his interpretation is. Matejca is observant of the hemiolic rhythms peppered throughout the first sonata, and carefully, musically shapes the lines that effortlessly (on paper anyway) melt into one another. Matejca makes even the most improvisatory passages of these works sound carefully controlled, with a sense of being and purpose stamped on every note… This is a revelatory performance by a startlingly talented young virtuoso – I can’t wait to see what he does next.”
Fanfare, September 2023

“Fart d'une superbe maestria et d'une dynamique très sensuelle, le jeune Tchèque affiche un véritable goût du risque et fait preuve autant d'imagination que de charme (Ballade), offrant partout un parfum de liberté et un bel instinct des climats (Les Furies, L'Aurore). Avec une impressionnante aisance instrumentale, mais sans exhibitionnisme déplacé, son jeu affiche une intégrité stylistique qui témoigne déjà d'une belle maturité et force l'attention… Un talent à suivre.”
Classica, October 2023

“The Czech Daniel Matejča, still a teenager (b. 2005), gives one of the best performances of the set that I have heard yet (and I have a shocking number of performances by now). It’s not getting through all the pyrotechnics that makes this special (nearly everyone who records the set can do that now), but doing it with such uncommonly beautiful sound.”
Fanfare, October 2023

“Manuell offensichtlich sehr begabt, stellt er diesen faszinierend vielgestaltigen Kosmos der neueren Solo-Violinliteratur klar und präsent in den Raum. Das klingt musikalisch plau sibel und geigerisch brillant… Vielversprechend!”
Fono Forum, October 2023

Eugène Ysaÿe
Sonata for Violin Solo No. 1 in G minor Op. 27
1. Grave. Lento assai 04:52
2. Fugato. Molto moderato 04:46
3. Allegretto poco scherzoso. Amabile 04:27
4. Finale con brio. Allegro fermo 02:38
Eugène Ysaÿe
Sonata for Violin Solo No. 2 in A minor Op. 27
5. Preludium. Obsession. Poco vivace 02:42
6. Malinconia. Poco lento 02:54
7. Danse des ombres. Sarabande. Lento 04:18
8. Les furies. Allegro furioso 03:33
Eugène Ysaÿe
Sonata for Violin Solo No. 3 in D minor Op. 27 Ballade
9. Lento molto sostenuto – Allegro in tempo giusto e con bravura 07:50
Eugène Ysaÿe
Sonata for Violin Solo No. 4 in E minor Op. 27
10. Allemande. Lento maestoso 05:32
11. Sarabande. Quasi lento 03:32
12. Finale. Presto ma non troppo 03:19
Eugène Ysaÿe
Sonata for Violin Solo No. 5 in G major Op. 27
13. L´Aurore. Lento assai 04:08
14. Danse rustique. Allegro giocoso molto moderato 05:22
Eugène Ysaÿe
Sonata for Violin Solo No. 6 in E major Op. 27
15. Allegro giusto non troppo vivo 08:05
Jana Vöröšová
16. Obsession II for Violin solo 07:25

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