Composer: Arcangelo Corelli, Fritz Kreisler, Maria Theresia von Paradis, Ottorino Respighi, Giuseppe Tartini, Tomaso Antonio Vitali
Performer: Sebastian Bohren, Stringendo Zürich, CHAARTS Chamber Artists
Conductor: Jens Lohmann
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Avie
Catalogue: AV2513
Release: 2022
Size: 605 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Kreisler: Praeludium and Allegro (in the style of Pugnani)
02. Vitali: Chaconne in G minor
03. Paradis: Sicilienne
04. Corelli: Violin Sonata Op. 5 No. 12 in D minor (La folia)
Respighi: Pastorale in A
05. I. Grave
06. II. Allegro sostenuto
07. Respighi: Pastorale in A Major, P. 86 (after Giuseppe Tartini): III. Largo
Tartini: Violin Sonata in G minor ‘Devil’s Trill’
08. I. Andante (arr. for violin and strings by Ingolf Turban and Holger Frey; cadenza: F. Kreisler)
09. II. Allegro (arr. for violin and strings by Ingolf Turban and Holger Frey; cadenza: F. Kreisler)
10. III. Andante – Allegro assai (arr. for violin and strings by Ingolf Turban and Holger Frey; cadenza F. Kreisler)
11. Kreisler: Variations on a Theme by Corelli (in the style of Tartini)
This album is an affectionate homage – to Ida Haendel, one of Sebastian Bohren’s heroes; to fiddlers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries; and to the violin itself. The Swiss violinist says, “it is also like a hall of mirrors, as some tracks invoke the spirits of two or three violinists”.
From an early age, Sebastian Bohren was immersed in a lineage of violinists who favoured Romantic transcriptions of Baroque repertoire, studying with a pupil of the great Ukranian-born violinist Nathan Milstein. Later in life, he fell under the influence of violinist Ida Haendel on YouTube, watching her perform Corelli’s “La Folia” Variations. “She played this amazing virtuoso cadenza, and I was captivated”. So arose the concept of a programme reflecting the ethos of “La Folia”, the ear-catching theme which has fascinated composers for centuries, from the Baroque era’s Tomaso Antonio Vitali and Giuseppe Tartini to latter-day Ottorino Respighi and Fritz Kreisler.
Sebastian captures the sound world with sincerity, playing on two different violins, the 1710 “King George” Stradivarius, and a Guadagnini made in 1761.