Hartmann: Concerto funebre; Sonatas & Suites for solo violin

1	Concerto Funebre for viol
2	Concerto Funebre for viol
3	Concerto Funebre for viol
4	Concerto Funebre for viol
5	Suite for solo violin No.
6	Suite for solo violin No.
7	Suite for solo violin No.
8	Suite for solo violin No.
9	Suite for solo violin No.
10	Suite for solo violin No.
11	Suite for solo violin No.
12	Suite for solo violin No.
13	Suite for solo violin No.
14	Sonata for solo violin No
15	Sonata for solo violin No
16	Sonata for solo violin No
17	Sonata for solo violin No
18	Sonata for solo violin No
19	Sonata for solo violin No
20	Sonata for solo violin No
21	Sonata for solo violin No
22	Sonata for solo violin No
Hartmann: Concerto funebre; Sonatas & Suites for solo violin
1.	Concerto Funebre for violin & string orchestra 21:49
	Composed by Karl Amadeus Hartmann
	Performed by Britten Sinfonia, Jacqueline Shave and Alina Ibragimova
2.	Suite No 1 for Solo violin 19:56
	Composed by Karl Amadeus Hartmann
	Performed by Alina Ibragimova
3.	Suite No 2 for Solo violin 9:35
	Composed by Karl Amadeus Hartmann
	Performed by Alina Ibragimova
4.	Sonata No 1 for Solo violin 15:03
	Composed by Karl Amadeus Hartmann
	Performed by Alina Ibragimova
5.	Sonata No 2 for Solo violin 14:12
	Composed by Karl Amadeus Hartmann
	Performed by Alina Ibragimova

All Music Guide

The sacred line of the great Austro-German composers of the twentieth century goes Mahler, Berg, Hindemith, Hartmann -- and the common listeners' affection for those composers' music goes in exactly the same order. Most listeners like Mahler's music, a fraction of them like Berg's, a fraction of them like Hindemith's, and a fraction of them like Hartmann's. Despite its undeniable dramatic mastery, lyrical intensity, and compositional virtuosity, Hartmann's music remains little known outside the German-speaking homelands.

Perhaps the reason for this neglect is its extravagant expressionist emotionality. As this uncompromising disc coupling his "Concerto funebre for violin and string orchestra" with his pairs of suites and sonatas for solo violin shows, Hartmann's harmonies were sometimes at the dissonant edges of tonality, his melodies frequently on the far side of clarity, and his attacks as often as not over the top into blatant brutality. Still, as performed here with astounding technical brilliance and complete self-assurance by young Russian violinist Alina Ibragimova, Hartmann's music can be a transformative experience. With the enthusiastic support of the Britten "Sinfonia," Ibragimova leans into the big tunes and the grand climaxes of the four-movement concerto, making the work seem nearly as compelling as Berg's concerto. And alone in the four- and five-movement suites and sonatas, Ibragimova persuades the casual listener to attend closely to the works' reckless daring, extraordinary beauty, and enormous musicality. Recorded in close, warm, and clean sound in Henry Wood Hall in London by producer Andrew Keener, this disc may do its bit to raise Hartmann's music in the pantheon of the great Austro-German composers of the twentieth century. James Leonard