Signs, Games & Messages: Works for Solo Violin by Bartok and Kurtag Simon Smith

• 1 Perpetuum mobile A 00:53
• 2 Doloroso 01:41
• 3 Hommage a J.S.B. 01:21
• 4 Hommage a John Cage 01:29
• 5 In Nomine - all'ongherese 04:52
• 6 The Carenza Jig 00:45
• 7 Perpetuum mobile B 01:08
• 8 Calmo, sognando 01:46
• 9 Kromatikus felesel?s 01:06
• 10 In memoriam Blum Tamas 02:05
• 11 Nepdalfele 00:58
• 12 Perpetuum mobile C 01:02
• 13 ... feerie d'automne ... 01:35
• 14 Mensaros Laszlo emlekere 00:41
• 15 Panaszos nota 01:09
• 16 Anziksz Kellerannanak 00:46
• 17 ... fur den, der heimlich lauschet ... 01:31
• 18 Antifona Hirominak 03:20
• 19 I. Tempo di ciaccona 11:12
• 20 II. Fuga 05:00
• 21 III. Melodia 06:48
• 22 IV. Presto 05:37
• Total Runtime 56:45

Info for Signs, Games & Messages: Works for Solo Violin by Bartok and Kurtag

Renowned British violinist and pedagogue Simon Smith makes his Resonus debut with an extraordinary disc of intensely virtuosic works for unaccompanied violin by two Hungarian composers – the late Sonata for Solo Violin by Belá Bartók and Signs, Games & Messages by living composer György Kurtág, who recently celebrated his 90th birthday in 2016.

The idiomatic and skilful writing for solo violin by both of these composers shows the immense range possible on this instrument, taking the performer to the edge of what’s possible. Often lyrical and expressive, often dramatic and atmospheric with folk influences, Simon Smith tackles this repertoire with great dedication and panache.

Simon Smith, violin

Simon Smith
has performed as a soloist with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, the Philharmonia, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and the Orchestra of St. John’s Smith Square. Recitals throughout the UK have included the Wigmore Hall and the Purcell Room in London. In 2014 he completed an extensive tour of recitals and concertos in Russia, including his Moscow debut. This year performances include concerto performances in Beijing and Hong Kong, and another complete Bach unaccompanied Sonata and Partita series. Recording projects include the Bartok Solo Sonata and works by Kurtag, for Resonus in July 2015.

A committed chamber musician, Simon was a member of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Octet, performing in concert halls and broadcasts worldwide. A CD of duos and trios by Kodaly and Dohnanyi, with Katherine Jenkinson, Paul Silverthorne and Clare Hayes will be released in 2015. In August 2015 he will be returning to Russia for a TV broadcast of violin and viola duos with Paul Silverthorne, in Chita, Siberia, where he has been invited to be Artistic Director of a Chamber music festival.

Simon has been a professor at the Birmingham Conservatoire for 11 years. He has given masterclasses throughout the UK and internationally. Future plans include further teaching in Russia and Kazakhstan, and at the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music in London.

Simon is Artistic Director of Chamber Orchestra Anglia.

Simon studied with David Martin and Frederick Grinke, and then with Yfrah Neaman at the Guildhall School of Music, where he was awarded the Gold Medal. He received a DAAD scholarship to continue his studies in Germany with Wanda Wilkomirska.

He plays on a Rogeri violin, made in 1708, and uses bows by Malines and Voirin as well as a modern bow by Louis Simon à Paris.

Booklet for Signs, Games & Messages: Works for Solo Violin by Bartok and Kurtag