Search - Mendelssohn, Kuniko Nagata, Hirotoshi Kasai :: Stas for Vln & Pno in F / Sta for Viola in C Minor

Wonderful Romantic Music

Bruce R. Schueneman | Kingsville, TX USA | 06/30/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Though Felix Mendelssohn is one of the most popular of romantic composers, his violin sonatas are relatively obscure. For some reason they don't have the profile of similar works by Beethoven, Brahms, Grieg etc., though this album is abundant proof that these sonatas deserve to be heard more often. The program includes three violin sonatas and a viola sonata. The lead work is the 1838 Sonata in F Major. This is a major work of Mendelssohn's maturity and has the solid romanticism and the light touch that Mendelssohn perfected to an extraordinary degree. Though the Sonata in F Minor was written when Felix was all of 16, it also possesses a fine romantic feeling. The slow introduction and allegro moderato opening have a Chopinesque feel. The F Major Sonata of 1820, written when Felix was 10 years old, is truly the work of a prodigy. Though certainly juvenalia compared with its longer and more mature siblings, it is an interesting piece in its own right. The Viola Sonata in C Minor is also an excellent work, and features several formal changes as opposed to the violin works. The middle movement is a menuetto instead of an adagio or andante, and the finale contains a set of variations. All in all this is most rewarding music, beautifully played by Hirotoshi Kasai (piano) and Kuniko Nagata (violin)."