This post is about my favorite viola player, performing:
- Three amazing sonatas.
Tabea Zimmermann is my favorite violist these days. That’s saying a lot, when I reflect on violists such as Pinchas Zukerman and others. Yet the reality is that I am always delighted by her musical phrasing, her own sincerity of expression, and the fact that her performances transmit her love for the compositions she plays.
She performs music by Brahms, Schubert, and Cesar Frank on this recording.
The individual works and movements are:
1. Sonata for Viola and Piano in F Minor op. 120/1: I. Allegro appassionato: I. Allegro appassionato
2. Sonata for Viola and Piano in F Minor op. 120/1: II. Andante un poco Adagio: II. Andante un poco Adagio
3. Sonata for Viola and Piano in F Minor op. 120/1: III. Allegretto grazioso: III. Allegretto grazioso
4. Sonata for Viola and Piano in F Minor op. 120/1: IV. Vivace: IV. Vivace
5. Sonata for Arpeggione (Viola) and Piano in A Minor, D.821: I. Allegro moderato
6. Sonata for Arpeggione (Viola) and Piano in A Minor, D.821: II. Adagio: II. Adagio
7. Sonata for Arpeggione (Viola) and Piano in A Minor, D.821: III. Allegretto: III. Allegretto
8. Sonata for Violin (Viola) and Piano in A Major: I. Allegretto ben moderato: I. Allegretto ben moderato
9. Sonata for Violin (Viola) and Piano in A Major: II. Allegro: II. Allegro
10. Sonata for Violin (Viola) and Piano in A Major: III. Recitativo: III. Recitativo
11. Sonata for Violin (Viola) and Piano in A Major: IV. Allegretto poco mosso
As I watched the videos below, I became aware of the astounding intimacy that these sounds created for us as listeners.
Each one of these sonatas was written late in the composer’s life, and each was originally composed for an instrument other than the viola.
- The Brahms F minor Sonata was composed for clarinet, and it beautifully exploits the dark colors and lowest range of the viola.
- The lyricism of Schubert’s Arpeggione was originally composed for the six-stringed, cello-like instrument called the “Arpeggione”.
- And the passionate Cesar Franck sonata was originally written for violin, and transposed for viola in this recording.
All three of these works gain new meaning and depth in these fiery performances by Gerstein and Zimmermann.
Here is a recording of the Carl Stamitz viola concerto, with the 16 year-old Tabea Zimmermann, who won the first prize for viola in 1982:
And next, here she is many years later in the Robert Schumann ‘Marchenbilder’ (Fairy tale pictures) Opus 113:
Tags: Tabea Zimmermann, Viola, Kirill Gerstein, Brahms, Schubert, Cesar Frank
