Isabelle Faust - Aleksandar Madzar

Isabelle Faust and Aleksandar Madzar are soloists of the younger generation who already have an international reputation. Madzar is replacing the previously billed pianist Florent Boffard. The programme remains unchanged and includes some of the finest works for violin and piano. The Sonata no. 8, by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), which dates from 1802. Dedicated to Alexander I of Russia as 'Second Symphony', it appropriately contains Russian dance rhythms and the high-spirited finale. The only completed sonata by Janácek (1854-1928) also has a Russian link: when it was first published in 1922, Janácek recalled how he wrote the work "in the Spring of 1914, while we were awaiting the arrival of the Russian in Brno". We will also hear parts of his opera 'Katya Kabanova'. Highflying spirits are often brought down by innate feelings of despair. Bartók (1881-1945) achieved a perfect synthesis between solid structures and an exuberant eloquence in his two sonatas from 1921-1922. The first sonata bears strong witness to the attainments of the 'classical' Bartók.