Various Composers - Duos for Violin and Cello (Frank Peter Zimmermann; Heinrich Schiff)

Information

• Arthur Honegger - Sonatine VI for Violin and Cello in E minor
• Bohuslav Martinů - Duo for Violin and Cello No. 1, H. 157
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Canon alla Duodecima in Contrapunto alla Quinta
• Matthias Pintscher - Study I for "Treatise on the Veil"
• Johann Sebastian Bach - Canon in Hypodiapason (Canon alla Ottava)
• Maurice Ravel - Sonata for Violin and Cello

Frank Peter Zimmermann, violin

Heinrich Schiff, cello

Date: 2006

Label: ECM

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Review

Frank Peter Zimmermann and Heinrich Schiff have been a musical item for more than two decades and the fruits of their mutual understanding are audible from the outset of Honegger’s Sonatina, which opens a typically wide-ranging and challenging ECM programme. Both players have an instinctive feeling for line which serves Honegger’s robust polyphony well, lifting his melodies off the page. The same is true in Martinu’s First Duo, where a mysterious Preludium is succeeded by a lively, warm-hearted Rondo in which players catch the Czech tang through the overlay of French gloss.

They face fierce competition in the one true French item, Ravel’s Sonata. The reissued Juillet-Mørk (Decca, 12/96R) gives perhaps the most classically balanced account; Kennedy and Harrell (EMI, 5/00) provide a slower, more dramatic performance. Zimmermann and Schiff are by far the fleetest, coming in over a minute ahead of either rival. Perhaps a shade too quick in the Lent, in the faster movements their impulsion is irresistible.

Between these peaks of early-20th-century repertoire come two Bach canons from The Art of Fugue and a new commission from Matthias Pintscher (b1971). The Bach canons are delivered with consummate skill, as one expects, while Pintscher’s ethereal vision, inspired by Cy Twombly’s art, casts a wholly different light on their musicality. With state-of-the-art sound, is this the best violin-and-cello duo disc around? I think it might be.

— Guy Rickards

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Frank Peter Zimmermann (born 27 February 1965) is a German violinist. A prodigy, he began playing at age five and debuted with orchestra at ten, later studying with prominent teachers in Germany and the Netherlands. Since launching his international career in 1983, he has performed with major orchestras worldwide and collaborated with renowned conductors. His repertoire spans from J.S. Bach to contemporary composers, with particular affinity for Mozart and Prokofiev. An active chamber musician, he co-founded Trio Zimmermann. His extensive, award-winning discography covers major violin works.

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Heinrich Schiff (18 November 1951 – 23 December 2016) was an acclaimed Austrian cellist and conductor. Trained with André Navarra and Hans Swarowsky, he debuted internationally in 1971 and performed with leading orchestras and conductors worldwide, such as Claudio Abbado and Simon Rattle. Schiff championed modern composers such as Luciano Berio and Krzysztof Penderecki while maintaining a distinguished conducting career. His award-winning recordings, especially of Bach and Shostakovich, earned widespread critical acclaim. Schiff also mentored prominent cellists including Gautier Capuçon and Jan Vogler.

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