Villa-Lobos / Baldini / Rossi Complete Violin Sonatas CD

Heitor Villa-Lobos's three violin sonatas date from a key period in his career: the moment at which he matured as a composer, established his personal idiom and achieved his first professional triumphs. Each sonata shares some influence from French late Romanticism or Impressionism, as well as revealing Villa-Lobos's skill as a string player. The First Violin Sonata's subtitle of D?sesp?rance ('Despair') suits it's melancholy lyricism, while the 'infinite abundance of musical ideas' in the Second Violin Sonata is characterized by a wide range of emotions. The sophisticated Third Violin Sonata is steeped in the influence of Debussy, but also anticipates Villa-Lobos's new directions in the 1920s.

1. Violin Sonata (Fantasia) No. 1, "D?sesp?rance" (Despair) 2. * Violin Sonata (Fantasia) No. 2 3. I. Allegro non troppo 4. II. Largo - Moderato 5. III. Rondo: Allegro final 6. * Violin Sonata No. 3 7. I. Adagio non troppo 8. II. Allegro vivace scherzando 9. III. Molto animato e final