Kodály: Sonata for Solo Cello, Op. 8 / Duo for Violin and Cello, Op. 7

Featuring

Andreas Brantelid
Benjamin Schmid
Zoltán Kodály

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Composer's Artistic Vision

Kodály's main artistic goal was to establish a national Hungarian musical tradition and integrate it into a recognizable Hungarian form of art music.

Performer Biography

Benjamin Schmid performs on the 1718 'ex Viotti' Stradivarius violin, made available to him by the Austrian National Bank, as well as a modern violin by Wiltrud Fauler.

Composer Biography

Zoltán Kodály, the composer, studied German and Hungarian at Pázmány University in Budapest while also taking composition lessons at the Academy of Music.

Performer Biography

Andreas Brantelid, the cellist on this album, plays on a 1707 'Boni-Hegar' Stradivarius cello, loaned to him by Norwegian art collector Christen Sveaas.

Composition History

The Duo for Violin and Cello, Op. 7, was completed in 1914 and premiered on May 7, 1918, by violinist Imre Waldbauer and cellist Jenö Kerpely.

Compositional Technique

Kodály's Sonata for unaccompanied cello, Op. 8, uniquely employs scordatura, a technique of retuning the instrument's strings to expand its harmonic and tonal range.