Beethoven Violin Sonatas
The Bible for violinists certainly consists of Bach&Beethoven Violin works. Beethoven’s 10 Sonatas for Violin+Piano mark the sofar climax of a genre full of delicacy, contrasting dialogue, deep expression and various form. Here the intercontinental dialogue between Vienna and Tokyo presented by the Duo Ehrenfellner&Honda reaches a rare poetic momentum in ‚reading from the NewTestament‘. Culture, education, craft, experience, and loving attention of two different galaxies, each for another, are the clashing forces of this dialogue. Their matching each other is poetry also on a deeper human level. It is a symbol for cultural dialogue, as well as for dialogue-culture itself, for the quality of how we communicate with each other. For Christoph Ehrenfellner the ‚direct speech‘ through the medium of his instrument is most essential, and this dialogue is at the core of his interests.
Complete recording at Art Union Label Tokyo
Christoph Ehrenfellner embarqued as a violinist in young years, at first from Salzburg with Prof.Hagen and Zehetmayer, later from Vienna with Gerhard Schulz and the Alban Berg Quartet. He has managed to grow as a violinist ever since. All the years of composing and conducting have not weakened his hands on the instrument – in the contrary: composing, conducting, singing and Chamber Music have only deepened his playing, and given him the tools for a rare level of interpretation today!
The Complete Beethoven Violin-Sonata Recording for ART UNION Label Tokyo is certainly a statement of maturity, of artistical masterhood and class. It is also a very personal statement of friendship with the Japanese pianist Masako Honda, and through that a symbolic hug between Vienna and Tokyo. It is the statement of taking up a grand path together, trusting each other, cheering each other, creating something bigger by joint forces of the two. It is an ideal version of mature dialogue by two grown-up personalities and a sinniere proposal to our modern world.
Ehrenfellner and Honda
The friendship between the two artists is a long one, and many together concerts have built up trust and respect towards each other. Alongside to the Kafka-Suite (op.32b) recording with Yoko Fujii, the Complete Beethoven Sonata recording of the Duo Honda-Ehrenfellner was made in the years 2017-2019. It took place in the perfect setting of a fine concert hall in the outskirts of Tokyo, under the patroncy of a senior eminence in Japanese Classical Music Business, Mr.Takeshi Nakano. Mr. Nakano was the partner to Seiji Ozawa in founding Santo Kinen Festival and Orchestra. His judgement and expertise is still in high esteme. He is also the father of this plan, and a happy testimony of it’s fulfillment.
Masako Honda today is a sought-after Professor for the most talented Japanese piano-youngsters, a Toho Gaukeln graduate and theacher and a devoted concert-pianist. Herself being a student of Ryoko Fukasawa, she continued the traditional line of friendship between Tokyo and Vienna, where Fukasawa has been one of the first and most famous Japanese pianists to regularly join the Vienna Phil members for Concerts and Chambers Music. In their encounter Ehrenfellner sofar lacks the posh Italian instrument to play with, but brings in a more profund quality to perfroming and recording: his singing. Born with the true heart of a singer, trained by Austria’s most distinguished singers, violinists and Chamber musicians and experienced from years of solo-performing, Chamber Music playing and positions in some of the finest European Orchestras and Ensembles have made Ehrenfellner grow into the performing artist he is today.
