Druzhinin, Weinberg, Vieuxtemps & Bacewicz: Viola Works

Featuring

Krzysztof Komendarek-Tymendorf
Fyodor Druzhinin
Mieczysław Weinberg
Henri Vieuxtemps
Grażyna Bacewicz

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Composer Biography

Fyodor Druzhinin, whose sonata is featured, was one of the most valued Soviet viola virtuosos and a student of Vadim Borisovsky, eventually taking his place in the famous Beethoven Quartet.

Historical Context

The sonatas by Fyodor Druzhinin and Mieczysław Weinberg form a diptych, connected by their composers' shared experience of living in the USSR during the time of Joseph Stalin.

Album & Artwork

The album title, "ReVIOLAtion," implies a "viola revolution," aiming to showcase the instrument's versatility and challenge its lower position among string instruments.

Interpretation

Krzysztof Komendarek-Tymendorf, the violist, approaches each work by decoding it through his own experience, leading to an intriguing and sometimes controversial interpretative concept.

Composition History

Grażyna Bacewicz's Polish Caprice, one of her most famous works, was originally written for violin in 1949, and the version on this album was transcribed for viola by Jerzy Kosmala.

Instruments

The album was recorded on a master viola built by Gerhard Ernst in Eugen Sticht's luthier workshop in 1988.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Mieczysław Weinberg, composer of the Viola Sonata No. 3, viewed the viola as an instrument with high potential for melodiousness, possessing a mysterious, ambiguous, and liberating sound.