Biber's Passacaglia from the Rosary Sonatas is also known as the 'Guardian Angel Sonata' due to a pen-and-ink drawing in the original manuscript depicting a child led by an angel.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Luciano Berio, a leading figure in post-1945 music, composed his 'Sequenzas' for various solo instruments to explore their possibilities and push the boundaries of what performers could achieve.
Performer Biography
Severin von Eckardstein, the pianist on this album, is a leading German pianist and winner of the Grand Prix International Reine Elisabeth in Brussels in 2003.
Compositional Technique
Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, a Baroque master, reportedly tuned individual strings of his violin to different pitches to achieve special timbre effects and enable difficult intervals and chords.
Performer Biography
Franziska Hölscher, the violinist on this album, is a versatile musician who performs as a soloist, chamber musician, and festival director, appearing at prestigious venues and festivals worldwide.
Composition History
Robert Schumann's Grand Sonata in D Minor for Violin and Piano (No. 2), Op. 121, helped free the violin from a subordinate role in sonatas, giving it a more prominent and virtuosic part.
Interpretation
Franziska Hölscher, the violinist, aims to create connections and dialogue between different time periods in her recital programs, shedding light on contemporary music from the perspective of early music and finding modern traits in older works.
