Both violin sonatas (1921-22) on this CD are exactly a century old. But even today they still sound very daring, with complex piano accompaniments and sharp harmonies such as are not taught in mainstream harmony theory. Negatively, the music still sounds quite intimidating. On the positive side: it is a challenge to penetrate precisely this powerful, personal language of sound. Bartók dedicated
… the sonatas to Hungarian violinist Jelly Arányi, with whom he gave concerts in several Western European cities. At those concerts, the sonatas were critically but sympathetically received, although some British reviewers had some difficulty with Bartók's hammering keyboard playing. (HJ)more
