Schubert, Franz - 4 Sonatas for Violin & Piano - Häkkinen, Aapo

Bulgarian violinist Zefira Valova graduated from the National Academy of Music in her hometown of Sofia before specializing in Baroque violin studies under Lucy van Dael. While still living in her home country, she founded Bulgaria's only annual early music festival (the Sofia Baroque Arts Festival) and is a frequent soloist and guest conductor with the Helsinki Baroque Orchestra under the baton of conductor Aapo Häkkinen. This time, Häkkinen will swap the conductor's podium for a gentle, melodious, Viennese-made fortepiano from 1820 – the ideal instrument for the program at hand. Together they form a lively and sympathetic duo, which is reinforced by the performance of these youthful works in concert. Franz Schubert (1797-1828) was only 19 when he composed his sonata trio in the spring of 1816, but he already had four symphonies under his belt, as well as masterpieces of song such as Gretchen am Spinnrade and Erlkönig. Like so much of his music, they were only published after his death, when they were given both a misleading opus number (Op. 137) and even a name, as the modest designation 'sonatina' shows little respect for the scale of Schubert's imagination and use of form. Technically, the trio of pieces is suitable for amateur players of both instruments, although it is more demanding for the pianist. This relatively easy performance does not necessarily conceal the ecstatic melodies of the second work in the collection, D385, or its deeply felt harmonies, which culminate in an elegiac finale. Composed in the stormy key of G minor, D408 turns the listener's ear towards Beethoven, even though the concise opening melody clearly speaks with Schubert's voice. However, all three of these 'sonatinas' are somewhat overshadowed by the following year's Sonata D574, composed in the summer of 1817, which is one of Schubert's most inspiring works from his youth.