Beethoven - Violin Sonata 9 [Perlman/ Ashkenazy]This is a lovely four disc box set of the complete Beethoven Violin Sonatas, there are lots of sets available to buy, some very good indeed, i feel this is one of the very best top recommendations, i certainly don't feel that all the Sonatas are equal, the early Op12 Sonatas are weak, but they're all worth hearing.
Itzhak Perlman, is an Israeli [although i'm sure he now has American citizenship, and lives in the United States], he is now 65, and he recorded these Violin Sonatas in the mid seventies.
In listening to the Ninth Sonata again, which i feel is the greatest Violin Sonata ever written, i must admit i found myself appreciating the first movement, it's revolutionary, just the way it starts, with the solo violin [0:00-0:27], with seemingly out of tune screeching notes, a wonderful start to such an incredible Sonata, but the first two minutes is an introduction to when things really get going, a frantic and frenetic game of tag between the violin and piano [2:28-3:05], it has such a headlong surge to it, and turns into a more slower and sweeter legato from Perlman [3:04+], and it's this fast / slow, twoing and froing that makes the whole movement, it's a great musical tease, like a lovely start / stop, using different gears all over the place, rather than one long steady speed, Beethoven certainly knows how to throw many devices and ideas into the mix, but it's not a hodge podge of mismatched jigsaw pieces, rather the whole thing fuses together into a perfect whole, the genius of Beethoven shines through wonderfully.
Here's Itzhak Perlman playing the first movement on YouTube, this time with Martha Argerich on piano.
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