Beethoven Violin Sonatas Nos. 2, 4 & 9 „Kreutzer“ Antje Weithaas & Dénes Várjon

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827): Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 12, No. 2:
• 1 van Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 12, No. 2: I. Allegro vivace 06:25
• 2 van Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 12, No. 2: II. Andante, più tosto Allegretto 05:30
• 3 van Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 12, No. 2: III. Allegro piacevole 04:46
• Violin Sonata No. 4 in A Minor, Op. 23:
• 4 van Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 4 in A Minor, Op. 23: I. Presto 07:12
• 5 van Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 4 in A Minor, Op. 23: II. Andante scherzoso, più allegretto 08:16
• 6 van Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 4 in A Minor, Op. 23: III. Allegro molto 05:20
• Violin Sonata No. 9 in A Major, Op. 47 "Kreutzer Sonata":
• 7 van Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 9 in A Major, Op. 47 "Kreutzer Sonata": I. Adagio sostenuto - Presto 14:04
• 8 van Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 9 in A Major, Op. 47 "Kreutzer Sonata": II. Andante con variazioni 15:52
• 9 van Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 9 in A Major, Op. 47 "Kreutzer Sonata": III. Finale. Presto 08:14
• Total Runtime 01:15:39

Info for Beethoven Violin Sonatas Nos. 2, 4 & 9 „Kreutzer“

With Antje Weithaas and Dénes Várjon, two instrumentalists are at work who deliver a spirited result above all through their inspiring musicality and absolutely precise and highly concentrated playing. Both artists are known and toured worldwide as unique chamber musicians. For Vol. I of the planned complete recording, they have decided not to follow chronology, but rather to seek - even more delightfully and diversely - contrast. Here the compositional developments can be marvelled at even more strikingly. Volume 1, with Op. 12 / 2, Op. 23 and Op. 47, revolves tonally around the spectrum of A major and A minor.

This applies to all movements of these three sonatas - except for the Variations movement of the Kreutzer Sonata in F major. All three works in this volume follow the tradition in the number and formal structure of the movements: three movements with a fast first and final movement - in sonata or rondo form - and a slower, mostly melodic middle movement.

But Beethoven understands the reference to tradition as an inspiration for something new and original. The lines of development between the second and penultimate violin sonatas, both in A major, can be clearly discerned. The two further volumes of the complete edition are scheduled for release over the next 12 months.

Antje Weithaas, violin
Denes Varjon, piano

Antje Weithaas
Brimming with energy, Antje Weithaas brings her compelling musical intelligence and technical mastery to every detail in the score. Her charisma and stage presence are captivating, but never overshadow the works themselves. Her wide-ranging repertoire encompasses a large portion of major concerto and chamber music works from the Baroque age to the present day.

As a soloist, she has made appearances with a great number of orchestras in Europe and around the globe, collaborating with conductors such as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Dmitri Kitayenko, Sir Neville Marriner, Marc Albrecht, Yakov Kreizberg, Sakari Oramo, and Carlos Kalmar.

With her infectious zest for communication, Antje Weithaas has become a sought-after leader in “Play-Conduct concerts” with internationally renowned chamber orchestras. She was Artistic Director of the Camerata Bern for almost ten years and still returns to work with them on a regular basis.

Her concerts as Associated Artist of the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris in the 2021/22 season led to an immediate re-invitation.

Weithaas’s recordings include the solo sonatas of Bach and Ysaÿe, the Ligeti horn trio, Beethoven quartets, Schubert trios, and the violin concertos of Beethoven, Schumann, Berg, and Khachaturian.

More than anything else, Antje Weihaas is a chamber music musician par excellence and is playing with many high qualified partners.

She won the Kreisler Competition in Graz in 1987 and the Bach Competition in Leipzig in 1988, as well as the renowned Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition Hanover in 1991. Together with Oliver Wille, she recently assumed the artistic directorship of the Joachim competition.

After teaching at the Berlin University of the Arts, Antje Weithaas was appointed to a chair at the Hochschule für Musik “Hanns Eisler” in 2004, where she has acquired a pre-eminent worldwide reputation as a violin teacher. She plays on a 2001 Peter Greiner violin. www.antje-weithaas.de

Dénes Várjon
Várjon’s sensational technique, profound musicianship, and wide range of interests have made him one of the most thrilling and highly regarded pianists on the international music scene. Várjon is a universal musician: an excellent soloist, a first-class chamber musician, an artistic director of music festivals, and a highly sought-after piano pedagogue.

Widely acknowledged as a preeminent chamber musician, Várjon works on a regular with illustrious partners such as Steven Isserlis, Antje Weithaas, Tabea Zimmermann, Kim Kashkashian, Jörg Widmann, Leonidas Kavakos, András Schiff, Heinz Holliger, Miklós Perényi, and Joshua Bell. As a soloist, he is a welcome guest at major concert series, from New York’s Carnegie Hall to Vienna’s Konzerthaus and London’s Wigmore Hall.

He is frequently invited to work with many of the world’s leading symphony orchestras: Budapest, Zurich, Berlin, St. Petersburg, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Russian National Orchestra, Kremerata Baltica, and Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, collaborating with eminent conductors, including Sir Georg Solti, Sándor Végh, Iván Fischer, Ádám Fischer, Heinz Holliger, Horst Stein, Leopold Hager, and Zoltán Kocsis. He appears on a regular basis at leading international festivals from Marlboro to Salzburg and Edinburgh.

Dénes Varjón has recorded for the Naxos, Capriccio, ECM, PAN-Classics (CH) and Hungaroton labels with critical acclaim. In 2015 he recorded the Schumann piano concerto with the WDR Symphonieorchester and Heinz Holliger, and all five Beethoven piano concertos with Concerto Budapest and András Keller.

In 1991, Dénes Várjon graduated from the Franz Liszt Music Academy Budapest, where his professors included Sándor Falvai, György Kurtág and Ferenc Rados. In parallel with his studies, he participated as actively in international master classes imparted by András Schiff. Dénes Várjon won first prize at the Piano Competition of Hungarian Radio, at the Leó Weiner Chamber Music Competition in Budapest, and at the Géza Anda Competition in Zurich.

He is a recipient of the Liszt Prize, the Sándor Veress Prize, and the Bartók-Pásztory Prize. In 2020 he received Hungary’s foremost award in the area of culture, the Kossuth Prize. Mr. Várjon works also for Henle Urtext Editions.

Booklet for Beethoven Violin Sonatas Nos. 2, 4 & 9 „Kreutzer“