Beethoven, Britten & Barber Liya Petrova & Boris Kusnezow

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827): Violin Sonata No. 7 in C Minor, Op. 30 No. 2:
• 1 Violin Sonata No. 7 in C Minor, Op. 30 No. 2: I. Allegro con brio 07:33
• 2 Violin Sonata No. 7 in C Minor, Op. 30 No. 2: II. Adagio cantabile 08:10
• 3 Violin Sonata No. 7 in C Minor, Op. 30 No. 2: III. Scherzo. Allegro - Trio 03:28
• 4 Violin Sonata No. 7 in C Minor, Op. 30 No. 2: IV. Finale. Allegro 05:03
• Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976): Suite for Violin and Piano, Op. 6:
• 5 Suite for Violin and Piano, Op. 6: Introduction. Andante maestoso 00:29
• 6 Suite for Violin and Piano, Op. 6: March. Allegro alla marcia 02:21
• 7 Suite for Violin and Piano, Op. 6: Moto perpetuo. Allegro molto e con fuoco 03:19
• 8 Suite for Violin and Piano, Op. 6: Lullaby. Lento tranquillo 04:53
• 9 Suite for Violin and Piano, Op. 6: Waltz. Alla valse, vivace e rubato 05:51
• Samuel Barber (1910 - 1981):
• 10 Sonate en Fa Mineur pour violon et piano "Lost Movement" 08:43
• Ludwig van Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 8 in G Major, Op. 30 No. 3:
• 11 Violin Sonata No. 8 in G Major, Op. 30 No. 3: I. Allegro assai 06:15
• 12 Violin Sonata No. 8 in G Major, Op. 30 No. 3: II. Tempo di Minuetto, ma molto moderato e grazioso 07:09
• 13 Violin Sonata No. 8 in G Major, Op. 30 No. 3: III. Allegro vivace 03:30
• Total Runtime 01:06:44

Info for Beethoven, Britten & Barber

Although Beethoven composed sonatas ‘for piano and violin’, following Mozart’s example, he did not intend to give prominence to one instrument or another.

Both performers should be able to display their full range of skills as true chamber music partners, so a perfect balance could be reached.

This album groups together the ‘Spring Sonata’ and two less often played sonatas, in which the composer’s love of nature appears as well as his special interest in ancient compositional devices.

Liya Petrova, violin
Boris Kusnezow, piano

Liya Petrova
won numerous prizes at international competitions such as the Concours International de Violon Tibor Varga, the International Louis Spohr Competition and the Vaclav Huml Competition among others, and at the German Music Competition which granted her admission to the list of Soloists of the DMR (Deutscher Musikrat).

As a soloist Liya has performed with many renowned Orchestras such as the Orchestre Philharmonique Luxembourg, the Filharmonie Antwerp,the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, the Orchestre National de Belgique ,the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, the Sinfonia Varsovia, the Brussels Philharmonic, the Orchestre National Montpellier, the Staatskapelle Weimar, the KlassikPhilharmonie Hamburg, the Norddeutschen Philharmonie Rostock, the Kansai Philharmonic Orchestra and others. She has worked with conductors such as Philippe Herrewege, Krzysztof Penderecki, Yan Tortelier, Nikolaj Szeps- Znaider, Christopher Warren-Green, Jesús López Cobos and Michel Tabachnik. She is also regularly touring in Japan which brings her to perform this season in over 20 cities in Japan. Her first solo Album with the Odense Symphony Orchestra under Kristiina Poska, including Nielsen and Prokofiev first Violin concerto for Orchid Classic Label (2018) brought her international critical acclaim.

In 2016 she received her second invitation to the concert series “Martha Argerich and friends” with Martha Argerich, Yuri Bashmet and Mischa Maisky. Furthermore she has collaborated with Ivry Gitlis, Renaud Capucon Augustin Dumay, James Ehnes, Nicholas Angelich, Frank Braley, Yuja Wang, Gerad Caussé, Autoine Tamestit, Gary Hoffman and Gautier Capucon in numerous chamber music projects. Amongst others, Liya has given guest performances at the Festspielen Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the Rheingau Musik Festival, the Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspielen, the Festival de Radio France Montpellier, the Festival of Menton and the Festival de Pâques of Aix-en- Provence. Liya Petrova was born in Bulgaria surrounded by a family of musicians. At the age of 11 she began her studies in Germany as a Young Student at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Rostock. After studying with Petru Munteanu there ,Liya continued her studies further with Augustin Dumay at the Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth in Belgium, Renaud Capucon at the HEMU in Lausanne, and Antje Weithaas at the Hochschule für Musik “Hans Eisler” in Berlin. Liya plays an outstanding instrument made by Carlo Bergonzi in 1737 in Cremona, on a generous loan from Xavier and Josephine Moreno.

Boris Kusnezow
is one of the most sought after collaborative pianists of his generation. He performs with eminent instrumentalists and singers worldwide. His performances have taken him to renowned concert venues such as the Carnegie Hall in New York, the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, the Kioi-Hall in Tokyo, the Munich Gasteig and the Berlin Philharmonie.

His artistic activities are documented in 12 CDs and numerous radio recordings. The German press (FAZ, Süddeutsche, Fono Forum, among others) have repeatedly praised him as a chamber musician and several of his CDs have been nominated for prizes, including the Opus Klassik and Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik.

Boris Kusnezow is in demand as an official pianist for some of the world’s most prestigious instrumental and singing competitions, most recently being invited to the ARD Competition in Munich, the Joseph Joachim Competition in Hannover and the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels.

Alongside his performing career, central to his artistic life is his passion for teaching. He currently holds teaching positions at the music conservatories in Hannover and Berlin (Hanns Eisler).

Boris Kusnezow was born in Moscow and began his musical education at the traditional Gnessin Academy. He has lived in Germany from the age of eight and completed his musical studies in Hannover with Professor Bernd Goetzke. Thereafter followed first place at the German Music Competition, international awards such as Fellowship of the Borletti-Buitoni Trust and scholarships from the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben and the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes.

Boris Kusnezow lives in Hannover. In addition to his active performing career and teaching activities, he organises an international music academy in Schloss Bückeburg and volunteers for the Loewe Foundation, where he focuses on the promotion of classical music.

Booklet for Beethoven, Britten & Barber