Kodály, Z.: Cello Sonata / Duo / Bottermund, H.: Variations On A Theme by Paganini

Featuring

János Starker
Josef Gingold
Hans Bottermund
Zoltán Kodály

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Recording & Production

This album includes Janos Starker's first and only recording of the complete version of Kodály's Cello Sonata, as well as its first appearance on compact disc.

Performer Biography

Janos Starker, the cellist on this recording, and Josef Gingold, the violinist, were both faculty members at Indiana University.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Kodály's musical style was heavily influenced by the Hungarian folk idiom, which is re-created in the tempo approach of Janos Starker, the cellist on this recording.

Compositional Technique

Kodály's Duo for Violin and Cello, Op. 7, composed in 1914, is highly original in its scoring for violin and cello, potentially preceding Ravel's Sonata for Violin and Cello.

Critical Reception

Béla Bartók, a fellow Hungarian composer, noted the originality of Kodály's Sonata for Unaccompanied Cello, stating that no other composer had written similar music.

Composition History

Kodály's Sonata for Unaccompanied Cello, Op. 8, composed in 1915, was the first major work for unaccompanied cello since the suites of J.S. Bach.

Composer Biography

Zoltán Kodály, a Hungarian composer, is known for his roles as an educator, composer of choral works, and folklorist who collected Hungarian folk songs with Béla Bartók.