Beethoven: Violin Sonatas Nos. 1, 5, 6 & 10 Antje Weithaas & Dénes Várjon

• Ludwig van Beethoven )1770 - 1827): Violin Sonata No. 5 in F Major, Op. 24 "Spring":
• 1 Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 5 in F Major, Op. 24 "Spring": I. Allegro 10:07
• 2 Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 5 in F Major, Op. 24 "Spring": II. Adagio molto espressivo 07:00
• 3 Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 5 in F Major, Op. 24 "Spring": III. Scherzo. Allegro molto — Trio 01:20
• 4 Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 5 in F Major, Op. 24 "Spring": IV. Rondo. Allegro ma non troppo 06:48
• Violin Sonata No. 6 in A Major, Op. 30 No. 1:
• 5 Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 6 in A Major, Op. 30 No. 1: I. Allegro 07:56
• 6 Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 6 in A Major, Op. 30 No. 1: II. Adagio molto espressivo 08:21
• 7 Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 6 in A Major, Op. 30 No. 1: III. Allegretto con variazioni 08:13
• Violin Sonata No. 1 in D Major, Op. 12, No. 1:
• 8 Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 1 in D Major, Op. 12, No. 1: I. Allegro con brio 08:35
• 9 Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 1 in D Major, Op. 12, No. 1: II. Tema con variazioni. Andante con moto 07:36
• 10 Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 1 in D Major, Op. 12, No. 1: III. Rondo. Allegro 04:46
• Violin Sonata No. 10 in G Major, Op. 96:
• 11 Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 10 in G Major, Op. 96: I. Allegro moderato 10:59
• 12 Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 10 in G Major, Op. 96: II. Adagio espressivo 06:29
• 13 Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 10 in G Major, Op. 96: III. Scherzo. Allegro 02:02
• 14 Beethoven: Violin Sonata No. 10 in G Major, Op. 96: IV. Poco Allegretto 09:12
• Total Runtime 01:39:24

Info for Beethoven: Violin Sonatas Nos. 1, 5, 6 & 10

Es gibt Alben, die schon in den ersten Sekunden beim Hören zünden. Dazu gehört für mich auf jeden Fall das neue Album von Antje Weithaas und Dénes Vàrjon. Beide sind keine Stars mit Glamour-Faktor, dafür aber unglaublich brillante Musiker, denen es einzig und allein und die Sache geht. Die beiden spielen einfach traumhaft zusammen, haben ein riesiges Spektrum an Klangfarben und sind echte „Beethoven-Flüsterer“. Sie sind ganz tief in dessen Klangkosmos eingetaucht und zeigen sich auf ihrer neuen Platte als ideales „Medium“ für dessen Musik. Das muss man einfach selber hören – so kann Beethoven klingen, wenn er wirklich Note für Note ernst genommen wird…..(Radio Bremen Nov 2023) „Einmal im Leben wollte ich Beethovens zehn Violinsonaten als Zyklus aufnehmen!“ – Für die Geigerin Antje Weithaas war dies ein langgehegter Wunsch. Das Repertoire der international renommierten Solistin, Kammermusikerin und gefragten Violinpädagogin ist breit gefächert, vom Barock bis in unsere Zeit. Doch Beethovens Sonaten für Klavier und Violine haben einen besonderen Stellenwert. „Es spricht eine tiefe Menschlichkeit aus dieser Musik. Ich finde sie in jeder Sonate. In jedem Stück von Beethoven, das ich kenne, gibt es einen unglaublich berührenden Moment.“ Antje Weithaas unternahm diese „Reise“ durch mehrere Schaffensperioden Beethovens mit einem der vielseitigsten und sensibelsten Pianisten unserer Zeit, dem Ungarn Dénes Várjon. Er ist gleichermaßen als Solist in Konzerten und Kammermusik auf den Podien der Welt unterwegs, er unterrichtet. Dénes Várjon hat seine musikalischen Prägungen von so großen ungarischen Musikern erfahren wie dem Komponisten György Kurtág, dem Geiger und Dirigenten Sándor Vegh sowie den Pianisten Ferenc Rados und András Schiff.. “ (aus dem Booklet von Elisabeth Richter)

Antje Weithaas, Violine
Denes Varjon, Klavier

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.

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. 1, 5, 6 & 10