As a child Stefan Wolpe studied the violin and the piano, and by his teens he wished to become a concert pianist and composer. His life transformed when, at the age of 18, he visited the Bauhaus at Weimar and sat in on the Preliminary Course of the painter and progressive educator Johannes Itten. Throughout his life Wolpe maintained that art has the power to transform the individual and society. This remarkable collection of Wolpe's music for violin(s) and piano includes several premiere recordings (the spectacular op. 2 Duo for two violins, the two studies of 1933, and the fragment of a second violin sonata). In addition it includes Wolpe's two late violin solos, and his magnificent and epic 1949 Sonata for Violin and Piano. The featured violinist on all the works is the Armenian/American virtuoso, Movses Pogossian.
Reviews:
“There’s much pleasure to be had in Wolpe’s pieces for solo violin and two violins, music whose vitality, wit, and rhythmic ingenuity bring Stravinsky to mind. They’re masterfully performed by Movses Pogossian and his colleagues.” - Fanfare (Want List)
“Wolpe collectors will need this. Performances are excellent.” - American Record Guide
“This is intriguing repertoire that deserves to be heard.” - theWholeNote
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Second Piece for Violin Alone (1966)
Mr. Pogossian
Duo fűr Zweite Geigen, op. 2 (1924)
Ms. Manouelian, Mr. Pogossian
Zwei Studien for Two Violins and Piano (1933)
Mr. Pogossian, Ms. Manouellian, Ms. Grace
Sonata for Violin and Piano (1949)
Mr. Pogossian, Ms. Grace
Second Sonata for Violin and Piano (fragment) (1958/59)
Mr. Pogossian, Ms. Grace
Piece in Two Parts for Violin Alone (1964)
Mr. Pogossian
Stefan Wolpe, composer
Movses Pogossian, violin
Varty Manouelian, violin
Susan Grace, piano
BRIDGE 9452
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