Lydia Mordkovitch Plays Bacewicz & Enescu Lydia Mordkovitch & Ian Fountain

• George Enescu (1881 - 1955): Violin Sonata No. 2 in F Minor, Op. 6:
• 1 Enescu: Violin Sonata No. 2 in F Minor, Op. 6: I. Assez mouvementé 09:07
• 2 Enescu: Violin Sonata No. 2 in F Minor, Op. 6: II. Tranquillement 07:57
• 3 Enescu: Violin Sonata No. 2 in F Minor, Op. 6: III. Vif 08:14
• Grażyna Bacewicz (1909 - 1969): Violin Sonata No. 1, "Sonata da camera":
• 4 Bacewicz: Violin Sonata No. 1, "Sonata da camera": I. Largo 03:17
• 5 Bacewicz: Violin Sonata No. 1, "Sonata da camera": II. Allegro 02:06
• 6 Bacewicz: Violin Sonata No. 1, "Sonata da camera": III. Tempo di minuetto 03:12
• 7 Bacewicz: Violin Sonata No. 1, "Sonata da camera": IV. Andante sostenuto 03:21
• 8 Bacewicz: Violin Sonata No. 1, "Sonata da camera": V. Gigue. Molto allegro 01:55
• Violin Sonata No. 3:
• 9 Bacewicz: Violin Sonata No. 3: I. Allegro moderato - Allegro appassionato 04:50
• 10 Bacewicz: Violin Sonata No. 3: II. Adagio 04:29
• 11 Bacewicz: Violin Sonata No. 3: III. Scherzo. Vivo 03:45
• 12 Bacewicz: Violin Sonata No. 3: IV. Finale. Andante - Moderato 05:41
• Partita:
• 13 Bacewicz: Partita: I. Prelude. Grave - Grandioso 06:27
• 14 Bacewicz: Partita: II. Toccata. Vivace 03:39
• 15 Bacewicz: Partita: III. Intermezzo. Andantino melancolico 03:20
• 16 Bacewicz: Partita: IV. Rondo. Presto 03:30
• Total Runtime 01:14:50

Info for Lydia Mordkovitch Plays Bacewicz & Enescu

Bacewicz was the most prominent Polish female composer of the twentieth century and a renowned violinist who, by contemporary accounts, was surpassed only by Ginette Neveu and David Oistrakh. She left a legacy of over 200 compositions, many of which have never been heard in the West. The Partita was written after a long hospitalisation – the result of a serious automobile accident. Although Bacewicz’s body was immobilised, her musical mind must have been very active. She provided two versions of the work, one for orchestra and the second for violin and piano which we hear on this recording. Bacewicz’s Third Violin Sonata is one of her lesser-known pieces. Bacewicz is frequently labelled a neoclassicist, but she is much more robust and muscular in her approach than many of her contemporaries.

George Enescu was a prodigy as both performer and composer and was not yet eighteen when he completed the Second Violin Sonata. His world here is not Romanian, but rather influenced by Brahms, Franck and Fauré; however, the work still exudes a healthy respect for the tradition which he inherited.

Both Bacewicz and Enescu studied in Paris, and were professional violinists and pianists who imbued their music with a profound knowledge of their instruments, clearly demonstrated in this new recording.

"Herself a successful violinist, Bacewicz's violin works are idiomatic and stunningly effective. Lydia Mordkovitch produces ringingly authoritative interpretations: the music favours her rich, dark timbres and her capacity. The underrated Second Sonata of Enescu makes a perfectly-judged complement. Splendid performances of splendid music that deserves to be better." (BBC Music Magazine)

"Exhilarating works from two of eastern Europe's finest violinist-composers. Mordkovitch is in fine form throughout, ably accompanied by Ian Fountain, and the sound is excellent." (Gramophone Magazine)

Lydia Mordkovitch, violin
Ian Fountain, piano

Lydia Mordkovitch
was born in Russia and studied at the Odessa Conservatory, then at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow where she was master pupil and assistant to David Oistrakh. She emigrated to Israel in 1974 and since 1980 has lived in Britain, appearing regularly with the London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, The Hallé Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic and English Chamber Orchestra. She has worked with such distinguished conductors as Sir Georg Solti, Riccardo Muti, Vassily Sinaisky, Neeme Järvi, Richard Hickox, Hugo Wolff, Ian Leighton-Konig, Vernon Handley, Gennady Rozhdestvensky and Stanislav Skrowaczewski. An impressive discography of well over fifty recordings reflects her very wide repertoire, and encompasses music from the complete works for solo violin by Bach to the concertos of Shostakovich, her recording of which for Chandos won a Gramophone Award and a Diapason d’Or. Her work has twice been nominated for a Gramophone Award and has received seven Critics’ Choices; recent recordings have won major nominations or prizes across Europe. Lydia Mordkovitch has several times been named ‘Woman of the Year’ by the American Biographical Institute, and also ‘Outstanding Woman of the Twentieth and Twenty-first Centuries’. She is a professor and Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music in London.

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