Brahms: Works for Violin & Piano, Vol. 2 Ulf Wallin & Roland Pöntinen

• Johannes Brahms (1833 - 1897): Clarinet Sonata in E-Flat Major, Op. 120 No. 2 (Version for Violin & Piano):
• 1 Clarinet Sonata in E-Flat Major, Op. 120 No. 2 (Version for Violin & Piano): I. Allegro amabile 08:31
• 2 Clarinet Sonata in E-Flat Major, Op. 120 No. 2 (Version for Violin & Piano): II. Allegro appassionato 05:24
• 3 Clarinet Sonata in E-Flat Major, Op. 120 No. 2 (Version for Violin & Piano): III. Andante con moto 07:30
• Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 100 "Thun":
• 4 Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 100 "Thun": I. Allegro amabile 08:54
• 5 Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 100 "Thun": II. Andante tranquillo - Vivace 06:43
• 6 Violin Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 100 "Thun": III. Allegretto grazioso, quasi andante 05:50
• Violin Sonata No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 108:
• 7 Violin Sonata No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 108: I. Allegro 09:04
• 8 Violin Sonata No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 108: II. Adagio 04:33
• 9 Violin Sonata No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 108: III. Un poco presto e con sentimento 03:10
• 10 Violin Sonata No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 108: IV. Presto agitato 06:03
• Total Runtime 01:05:42

Info for Brahms: Works for Violin & Piano, Vol. 2

Ulf Wallin and Roland Pöntinen made their first duo-recording for BIS in 1991 and have released acclaimed recital discs ranging from Schumann and Liszt to Alfred Schnittke, by way of Schoenberg and Hindemith. With the present disc they bring their most recent project to a close: a recording of all the works by Johannes Brahms for violin and piano. These include not only the three well-known and -loved numbered violin sonatas, but also the Scherzo from the so-called F.A.E. Sonata and the composer’s own violin versions of the two sonatas for clarinet and piano. Wallin and Pöntinen open the present disc with Sonata No. 2 in E flat major, Op. 120, composed in 1894 for clarinet and transcribed for the violin a year later. As the clarinet part extends further down than the lowest note on the violin, Brahms made considerable revisions to the clarinet part, which entailed changes in the piano part, and consequently the printing of a new piano score. This is followed by the second and third violin sonatas, in A major and D minor respectively. Both works were composed during the summer of 1886 in Thun in Switzerland and are clearly related, even though they inhabit completely different expressive worlds.

Ulf Wallin, violin
Roland Pöntinen, piano

Ulf Wallin
The Swedish violinist Ulf Wallin studied at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm with Prof. Sven Karpe and at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna with Wolfgang Schneiderhan.

Concert tours have taken him to Asia, Europe and the United States. He has worked with such eminent conductors as Jesús Lopéz Cobos, Manfred Honeck, Paavo Järvi, Andrew Manze, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Walter Weller and Franz Welser-Möst. Always in great demand as a chamber player Ulf Wallin has worked with artists like Bruno Canino, Barbara Hendricks, Heinz Holliger, Roland Pöntinen und András Schiff.

Ulf Wallin has appeared at numerous major festivals including the Lucerne and Berlin music festivals, the Schleswig-Holstein fFestival, the Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg, Musiktage Mondsee, Festival Pablo Casals de Prades and Marlboro Music Festival. He has performed in the world’s leading venues, including the Berlin Philharmonie, La Scala di Milano, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées Paris, London’s Wigmore Hall and the Musikverein in Vienna.

Ulf Wallin’s dedication to contemporary music is highlighted by his close contacts with several eminent composers, among them Anders Eliasson, Alfred Schnittke and Rodion Shchedrin.

He has made numerous radio, and television appearances and more than 50 CD recordings (BIS, cop, EMI and BMG), have gained much acclaim and attention from the international media.

Ulf Wallin is professor of violin at the Hochschule für Musik „Hanns Eisler" in Berlin and visiting professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. He has served on juries for major international competitions including the ARD Competition in Munich, the Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition in Hannover and the Fritz Kreisler Violin Competition in Vienna.

In 2013 he was awarded the Robert-Schumann-Preis der Stadt Zwickau and in 2014 he was elected into the Royal Swedish Academy of Music.

Ulf Wallin plays a violin by the Venetian master Domenico Montagnana from 1746.

Booklet for Brahms: Works for Violin & Piano, Vol. 2