Search - Hindemith, Cortese :: Complete Works for Viola 2

Solo Viola Sonatas No Ho-hum Adventure!

James M. Boubonis | 11/12/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's surprising how a recording of solo viola sonatas, written by a master composer, can be a musically fascinating experience. In this his second installment of three, in Paul Hindemith's complete solo works for viola, Paul Cortese explores the four solo, unaccompanied viola sonatas.Hindemith (1895-1963) was himself a fine violist; like Mozart, it was his main instrument. Hindemith loved all instruments and learned the basics of each in order to write intelligently - would that more composers did so - but it would seem he wrote with more natural affinity when it came to the oft-ignored alto string instrument.The sonatas date from 1922 through 1937, and represent Hindemith's gradual move from a sort of Neo-classic free atonality to the quartal/quintal sound most people associate with Hindemith's better known works, such as Mathis der Maler or the Symphonic Metamorphosis.This collection amply displays Paul Cortese's mastery of the instrument and of Hindemith's unique style. Cortese, a student of musical form, musically highlights one of Hindemith's most intriguing compositional strengths, that of adhering to a strictly designed form even while seeming to meander, viz the 5th Movement of Opus 25 No. 1. Cortese's refined string technique is evident throughout the recording, including the slicing thrusts of Opus 25 No. 1, 4th Movement; the motoric pyrotechnics of Opus 31 No.4, 1st Movement - the whole movement a study in double-stops; and the rich tones emanating from Cortese's viola during the melancholy 2nd Movement of the Opus 31 Sonata.The 3rd Movement of Opus 31, a Theme and Variations, runs the gamut of styles: stark and bold, brooding and pensive, or as bouncy as a nautical tune.The 4th Movement of Opus 11 is a Passacaglia with beautifully melodic writing, much of which is technically taxing to the violist. Cortese makes it sound easy.Though some might think it takes a slightly masochistic soul to appreciate early 20th-century German Expressionist unaccompanied viola sonatas, this disc is valuable to Hindemith aficionados as well as serving as an excellent reference for string students and pedagogues."

Great Pieces, Not the Best Performance.

James M. Boubonis | 07/15/2001

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Certainly, these are essential pieces (particularly for viola buffs!), and Paul Cortese does an adequate job of performing them, but I definitely prefer the Kim Kashkashian disc by a longshot. Cortese's intonation and vibrato get slushy, weak; by contrast, Kashkashian's left hand is rock solid even on the most exposed doublestops (octaves, unisons) and passagework. The infamous fourth movement of Op. 24 no. 5, for example ["Rasendes Zeitmaß. Wild. Tonschönheit ist Nebensache"], is much closer to Hindemith's Utopian tempo marking on the Kashkashian disc, and better in tune. (Though I should note that Cortese seems to have taken the part about "Tonschönheit" to heart...) Arguably, Kashkashian is too restrained in the op. 11 no. 5, but her interpretation is winning and enjoyable in its own right, and certainly clearer and (again) better in tune. These pieces are very satisfying. Though certainly not atonal, they do often bristle with often shocking dissonances; nevertheless, they are accessible, passionate, and formally lucid, not to mention thrillingly virtuosic. By all means, buy a recording. Just not this one."