Beethoven's first set of violin sonatas, Op. 12, was not well-received by the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung, which described them as 'learned, learned, and evermore learned, without Nature, without song!'
Composition History
Beethoven dedicated his first set of three violin sonatas, Op. 12, to Antonio Salieri, an Italian opera composer and one of his teachers in Vienna.
Cultural Impact
The 'Spring' Sonata, Op. 24, is perhaps the best known of all classical violin sonatas, and its nickname, though not given by Beethoven, was likely in use by the mid-19th century.
Composition History
Beethoven dedicated the Op. 30 set of sonatas to Tsar Alexander I of Russia, who was a popular figure in early 19th-century Vienna.
Instruments
Tasmin Little, the violinist on this recording, plays a violin made by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini in 1757.
Recording & Production
This album was recorded using 24-bit / 96 kHz technology, which offers a dynamic range up to 48 dB greater and 256 times the resolution of standard 16-bit recordings.
Composition History
The 'Kreutzer' Sonata, Op. 47, was hastily composed for George A. Polgreen Bridgetower, a violinist of West Indian and German descent, whom Beethoven met in 1803.
