Beethoven, Brahms & Bartók: Violin Sonatas

Featuring

Hephzibah Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin
Adolph Baller
Ludwig van Beethoven
Johannes Brahms
Béla Bartók

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Performer Biography

Yehudi Menuhin, the violinist on this album, and his younger sister Hephzibah Menuhin, a pianist, achieved international recognition as a duo.

Composer Biography

Brahms's student Gustav Jenner claimed that the three published violin sonatas were preceded by three others that Brahms destroyed due to dissatisfaction.

Notable Performances

After hearing Menuhin and Baller play his First Violin Sonata, Bartók remarked, 'I did not think music could be played like that until long after the composer was dead.'

Composition History

Beethoven's Sonata No.10 in G, Op.96, composed in 1812, was his last work for violin and piano and was dedicated to his friend and patron Archduke Rudolphe.

Recording & Production

The Beethoven and Brahms sonata recordings on this album, made in 1947, represent the first post-war discs by the legendary Menuhin duo.

Interpretation

The recorded performance of Bartók's First Violin Sonata by Menuhin and Baller is significant because the composer himself deeply admired their interpretation.

Performer Biography

Adolf Baller, the pianist for the Bartók sonata, was interned by the Nazis who broke all his fingers, but he regained mobility and escaped to the United States.