The performer, Karl Stobbe, chose to pair Bach's C Major Sonata with Bartók's Solo Violin Sonata because both works present a path of healing and love of life, starting with uncertainty and ending in joy.
Composition History
Bartók's Solo Violin Sonata was commissioned by the great violinist Yehudi Menuhin in November 1943, after Menuhin heard him play and was inspired by Bach's compositional craft.
Performer Biography
Karl Stobbe, recognized as one of Canada's most accomplished violinists, plays on an exceptional and rare violin made by Nicolas Lupot in Paris in 1806.
Compositional Technique
Bach's C Major Sonata, part of his Sei Solo for solo violin, is noted for its complex counterpoint, including note stacking, inversions, reversals, and strettos, pushing the limits of the violin as a polyphonic instrument.
Composer Biography
Béla Bartók, a famous pianist and ethnomusicologist, spent his last five years in the United States after leaving Hungary in 1940 due to the rise of Nazism, struggling with poor health and finances.
Compositional Technique
The first movement of Bach's C Major Sonata is an unprecedented piece of harmonic exploration, with C Major, its supposed key, present in only 6 of 47 bars and only tonicized in the third to last bar.
Recording & Production
This recording was made in Winnipeg, MB, Canada, in 2022, with Karl Stobbe serving as both producer and recording engineer.
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