Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonaten für Klavier und Violine op. 12 Nr. 3, Op 30 Nr. 3, Op. 96

by Stefania Neonato

Overview

Fortepianist Stefania Neonato and violinist Christine Busch are both expert historical performance veterans who have also played conventional instruments. One would expect them to produce a delicious, historically oriented reading of Beethoven's violin sonatas (here called, according to the composer's usage of the day, sonatas for piano and violin), and so they do. One key is Neonato's choice of instrument, an 1816 fortepiano from the workshop of Nannette Streicher in Vienna. These instruments aren't as often heard in the general run of fortepiano releases from this period as those by the firm of Anton Walter, but they are worth encountering, for Streicher was a close associate of Beethoven. The one here is from 1814, two years after the latest work on the album, the Violin Sonata No. 10 in G major, Op. 96. In this work, the new gentleness of the fortepiano at that stage gives a strong impression of being exactly what Beethoven was after, and Neonato and Busch deliver a marvelous performance. Sample the rhythmic freedom of the opening Allegro moderato, where the music seems to breathe. In the two earlier sonatas on the program, Neonato modulates the fortepiano's sound nicely; in the Violin Sonata No. 3 in E flat major, Op. 12, No. 3, of 1798, she gives the instrument the more percussive sound of the second-generation fortepiano, while in the Violin Sonata in G major, Op. 30, No. 3, from three or four years later, the piano is coming into its own with a range of colors. Neither Neonato nor Busch is a household name, but this is a deeply satisfying Beethoven recording that will reward many rehearings. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	01/10/2025
Label:	SWRMUSIC
UPC:	0747313915781

Tracks

1. Sonate für Klavier und Violine, Op. 12 Nr. 3 in Es-Dur / Sonata for Piano and Violin, Op. 12 No. 3, E flat major~I. Allegro con spirito
2. Sonate für Klavier und Violine, Op. 12 Nr. 3 in Es-Dur / Sonata for Piano and Violin, Op. 12 No. 3, E flat major~II. Adagio con molta espressione
3. Sonate für Klavier und Violine, Op. 12 Nr. 3 in Es-Dur / Sonata for Piano and Violin, Op. 12 No. 3, E flat major~III. Rondo. Allegro molto
4. Sonate für Klavier und Violine, Op. 30 Nr. 3 in G-Dur / Sonata for Piano and Violin, Op. 30 No. 3, G major~I. Allegro assai
5. Sonate für Klavier und Violine, Op. 30 Nr. 3 in G-Dur / Sonata for Piano and Violin, Op. 30 No. 3, G major~II. Tempo di Minuetto, ma molto moderato e grazioso
6. Sonate für Klavier und Violine, Op. 30 Nr. 3 in G-Dur / Sonata for Piano and Violin, Op. 30 No. 3, G major~III. Allegro vivace
7. Sonate für Klavier und Violine, Op. 96 in G-Dur / Sonata for Piano and Violin, Op. 96, G major~I. Allegro moderato
8. Sonate für Klavier und Violine, Op. 96 in G-Dur / Sonata for Piano and Violin, Op. 96, G major~II. Adagio espressivo
9. Sonate für Klavier und Violine, Op. 96 in G-Dur / Sonata for Piano and Violin, Op. 96, G major~III. Scherzo
10. Sonate für Klavier und Violine, Op. 96 in G-Dur / Sonata for Piano and Violin, Op. 96, G major~IV. Poco allegretto

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Christine Busch   Primary Artist,Violin
Stefania Neonato   Primary Artist,Fortepiano

Technical Credits

Lisa Bodenseh   Engineer
J. Leliveldt   Photography
Maria del Mar Alonso Amat   Liner Note Translation,Liner Notes
Martin Pilger   Artistic Supervision,Mastering,Editing
Hendrik Zwietasch   Photography
Sven Cichowicz   Cover Photo
Stefania Neonato   Liner Note Translation,Liner Notes
Nannette Streicher   Instrument Design
Doris Blaich   Producer
Ludwig van Beethoven   Composer