Petteri Iivonen, the violinist on this album, began studying violin at the Helsinki Conservatory at the age of four and won the Erkki Melartin chamber music competition when he was 15.
Composition History
Claude Debussy's Sonata for Violin and Piano in G Minor was the last complete work he wrote before his death in 1917, and he performed it himself on piano at its premiere.
Instruments
Petteri Iivonen performs on a Ferdinandus Gagliano violin, built in 1767, which is on loan to him from the OKO Bank Art Foundation.
Compositional Technique
The Chaconne, a massive movement concluding Bach's Partita No. 2, likely originated as a fast, syncopated dance in the New World before being treated with increasing invention and gravity by Baroque composers.
Composition History
Eugène Ysaÿe, a Belgian composer and violinist, was inspired to compose his six Op. 27 violin sonatas after hearing Joseph Szigeti play Bach's G Minor Sonata.
Recording & Production
This album was recorded in Alfred Newman Hall at the University of Southern California, a concert space favored for its warm, transparent, and lively sound.
Recording & Production
The recording used a legendary Austrian AKG C-24 stereo microphone and a minimalist recording technique with a short signal path and few electronics between the performer and the final product.
