Beethoven - Violin Sonata 8 [Perlman/ Ashkenazy] Here's another Violin Sonata from this wonderful 4 disc box set, the two Sonatas that i really love are 9 & 5, and last November and December i played these [16th November 2010 & 2nd December 2010], and i would say i have neglected the other Sonatas, however if there's one other that's starting to break away from the pack, then it's Sonata 8.
Itzhak Perlman is now 65, and this Violin Sonata was recorded in 1975, this is my first choice for the complete Beethoven Violin Sonatas on disc.
Well the first movement impressed me greatly, it's quite a roller-coaster, it's one of those movements where the violin and piano keep swapping places, playing each others tune and effects, or echoing / copying each other, of course it's full of lots of repetition, and themes / tunes coming round again and again in cyclic fashion, the very best bit / phrase that i like is about a minute in [1:07-1:21], where the violin and piano both get frantic, and copy each other, there's a nice little back and forth exchange [1:16-1:21], this little 14 second exchange comes back twice more [3:10-3:24 & 5:33-5:47], and it's a joy to hear it reappear again and again, there's another little exchange [3:51-4:19], where trills are used, echoing back and forth between violin and piano, and the violin uses some nice sour little trills [4:07+], altogether an ingenious little movement.
Here's Anne Sophie Mutter playing the first movement on YouTube.
