Composer: Mihkel Kerem
Performer: Mikk Murdvee, Sten Lassmann
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Toccata
Catalogue: TOCC0140
Release: 2012
Size: 353 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Violin Sonata No. 1
01. I. Nocturne
02. II. Scherzo
03. III. Postlude
Violin Sonata No. 2
04. I. Commodo
05. II. Presto
06. III. Grave
Sonata for solo violin
07. I. Introduction and March
08. II. Fantasy
09. III. Siciliana
10. IV. Finale
Violin Sonata No. 3
11. I. Scherzo
12. II. Sonata
13. III. Polyphony
The Estonian violinist Mihkel Kerem (born in Tallinn in 1981) is familiar as a performer in Britain as well as at home; he is also a prolific composer, with over one hundred works to his credit, three symphonies among them.
Hardly surprisingly, he has written for his own instrument, including a concerto and these four sonatas – the First an astonishing achievement for a thirteen-year-old and the Second hardly less surprising from a fifteen-year-old composer.
Kerem’s style is powerful and direct, reminiscent of Prokofiev in its steely strength and motoric energy.
This is one of a series of projected recordings of Estonian music on Toccata Classics, following on earlier discs of works by Ester Mägi and Veljo Tormis.