Grieg, Franck, Shor-Pletnev, Shostakovich (180g)

LPA

1. CESAR FRANCK - Sonata for violin and piano in A major FWV 8, I. Allegretto ben moderato
2. CESAR FRANCK - Sonata for violin and piano in A major FWV 8, II. Allegro
3. CESAR FRANCK - Sonata for violin and piano in A major FWV 8, III. Recitativo-Fantasia. Ben moderato — Molto lento
4. CESAR FRANCK - Sonata for violin and piano in A major FWV 8, IV. Allegretto poco mosso

LPB

1. EDVARD GRIEG - Violin sonata No. 3, Op. 45, I. Allegro molto ed appassionato
2. EDVARD GRIEG - Violin sonata No. 3, Op. 45, II. Allegretto espressivo alla Romanza
3. EDVARD GRIEG - Violin sonata No. 3, Op. 45, III. Allegro animato

For his first Warner Classics album, violinist Daniel Lozakovich, born in Stockholm in 2001, collaborates with the distinguished Russian pianist Mikhail Pletnev. Their programme comprises three sonatas – by Franck, Grieg and the contemporary Ukrainian-born composer Alexey Shor – and popular shorter works by Grieg and Shostakovich.

Lozakovich, who made his solo debut at the age of nine, already enjoys a considerable international reputation. France’s Le Figaro has spoken of his “perfect mastery”, the Boston Globe has praised him for “poise, tonal purity, and technique to spare”, while the tone he draws from his 1713 Stradivari violin has been called “sweet, warm and extraordinarily beautiful” by London’s Guardian.

“When I joined Warner Classics, I had a real feeling that I had found my artistic freedom and that I could do what I had always dreamed of,” says Lozakovich. “I wanted to create a world of my own, with the aim of recording works whose spirituality, from my perspective, has not yet been fully explored.” Speaking of his musical partnership with Mikhail Pletnev, he says: “You have to trust each other, be on the same path in terms of musical direction, and be truth-seekers in life and in art ... We don’t talk a lot while rehearsing, because there is an understanding of where the music is leading and a spiritual communion, which is the most important in any musical collaboration.”

Discussing the works on the programme, Lozakovich describes César Franck’s much-loved Sonata in A major as “the epitome of spiritual beauty, an ideal expression of dialogue between the violin and piano, with its never-ending magical melodies where you can find an infinite number of colours.” With their interpretation of Edvard Grieg’s Sonata No 3, he and Pletnev pay tribute to a recording made nearly 100 years ago by Fritz Kreisler and Sergei Rachmaninov, but Lozakovich points out that: “I seldom take other violinists as role models, because I think everyone develops within his own universe. That said, among musicians of the past Horowitz, Furtwängler, Maria Yudina and Carlos Kleiber are a particular source of fascination through their sense of mystery and the profound meaning of their interpretations.”

Alexey Shor, who was born in 1970 and now lives primarily in the USA, composes in an idiom that draws on the great Russian Romantic tradition. The sonata in B minor on this album is an adaptation, made by Mikhail Pletnev, of Shor’s Violin Concerto No 4. “The music of Alexey Shor is a source of light,” says Lozakovich. “His melodies speak to audiences, shining a ray of light on them. I had the chance to play one of his concertos, conducted by Mikhail Pletnev, who decided to prepare a version of it in the form of a sonata for violin and piano. The work has beautiful melodies, soulfulness and a protest for hope”.

The album is rounded out by two shorter pieces – the poignant ‘Solveig’s Song’ from Grieg’s music for Ibsen’s play Peer Gynt, and the suave Romance from Shostakovich’s music for the film The Gadfly.

“Solveig’s Song’ is such an affecting piece,” says Lozakovich.“It’s about an abandoned love, and the main theme is a blend of heartbreak and hope. As for Shostakovich’s Romance, I wanted to include it because the positive emotions it expresses are so very rare for Shostakovich, who suffered so much under the oppression of Stalin’s regime. Yet in those terrible times he still could find light and hope in his soul.”