William Bolcom - Violin Sonatas (Solomia Soroka; Arthur Greene)

Information

Composer: William Bolcom

• Violin Sonata No. 1
• Violin Sonata No. 2
• Violin Sonata No. 3, "Sonata Stramba"
• Violin Sonata No. 4

Solomia Soroka, violin

Arthur Greene, piano

Date: 2006

Label: Naxos

-----------------------------------------------------------

Review

William Bolcom has been doing well on CD, thanks largely to Naxos – and he deserves to, as his massive Songs of Innocence and of Experience and more intimate ‘Songs’ with Carole Farley (both 7/05), abundantly showed. These four violin and piano sonatas cover a period of almost 40 years. Bolcom gave up violin lessons with relief at the age of about 10 when his instrument was stolen from his father’s car, but he has retained a strong affection for the fiddle and the sonatas represent his more serious side rather than the rumbustious ragtimer.

The First Sonata comes from 1956, Bolcom’s freshman year at the University of Washington, Seattle, but was revised later. I thought I recognised the flowing melody of Milhaud but Bolcom studied with him after that. The Second Sonata arose 20 years later, after he met jazz violinist Joe Venuti, and it was completed in memoriam. In the first movement the violin sings in a gentle bluesy manner over regular patterns in the piano: ‘Brutal’, which follows, is as tough as anything in Ives. There are conventional triads in both the last two movements and the whole piece affectionately recalls some of Venuti’s own licks.

The other two sonatas come from the mid-1990s. The Third is subtitled Stamba (‘Weird’) and, admittedly, you never quite know what is going to happen next. A mini-scherzo is a scrap of tarantella, then the finale fuses tangos and Arab music,. The last one is another virtuoso piece, at times hyperactive, where everything is confidently delivered by this brilliant duo.

— Peter Dickinson

-----------------------------------------------------------

William Bolcom (born 26 May 1938) is an American composer and pianist known for bridging popular and classical music traditions. Educated at the University of Washington, Mills College, the Paris Conservatory and Stanford University, he later served as professor of composition at the University of Michigan. A prolific composer, Bolcom wrote works across genres, including piano études, operas, orchestral music and song cycles, and showed a particular affinity for ragtime. He received the Pulitzer Prize in 1988 and multiple Grammy Awards in 2006. Bolcom has also been active as a performer, writer, editor and educator.

***

Ukrainian violinist Solomia Soroka, born in L'viv, studied with Hersh Heifetz, Bohodar Kotorovych, Liudmyla Zvirko and Charles Castleman. She has performed as a soloist and chamber musician across Europe, North America, Asia and Australia. A champion of Ukrainian music, she has premiered works by Lyatoshynsky, Skoryk and Stankovych. With her husband, pianist Arthur Greene, she records for Naxos and Toccata Records, earning critical acclaim. Currently, she teaches at Goshen College and Bowling Green State University, directs the Sherer Violin/Piano Competition, and remains active in festivals and masterclasses.

***

Arthur Greene is an American pianist, educated at Juilliard, Yale University and Stony Brook University. A Gold Medalist at the William Kapell and Gina Bachauer Competitions, and a top laureate at the Busoni Competition, he has performed worldwide as a soloist and with major orchestras. Renowned for his interpretations of Brahms and Scriabin, he has recorded landmark cycles and numerous critically acclaimed albums. A longtime faculty member at the University of Michigan, Greene is an award-winning pedagogue whose students have achieved international distinction, and he is a respected juror at competitions.

-----------------------------------------------------------