Kuhlau / Astrand / Salo - Violin Sons 1 - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Kuhlau / Porto / Tosi - Friedrich Kuhlau Violin Sonatas [COMPACT DISCS] date 05/27/2016

Duo Åstrand/Salo follow up their first installment of sonatas by Friedrich Kuhlau with a selection of some of the composer's most impressive works for violin and piano. Friedrich Kuhlau fled to Denmark as a young man and with his strong cosmopolitan personality became a loner- and at the same time a key figure- in the Danish Golden Age. In 1813 Kuhlau was granted Danish citizenship and the honorary title of Royal Court Musician. Included on this is what some consider the first Danish violin sonata in the Romantic style, a work that glances towards the composer's idol Beethoven but contains plenty of individual spice and allure. It is followed by sonatas in all but name, the Trois Duos brillants from late in Kuhlau's career. They are brilliant, as the title suggests - three varied, evocative snapshots of the great cosmopolitan of Denmark's Golden Age.

As the title, implies the inspiration behind Lessons stems from life's biggest ones. The notion of life's immediacy is kept firmly at the forefront of Lessons. The band toys with the theme of living beyond a normal lifetime- the concept of reliving and rewriting our lives, and the lessons we can all learn along the way. Sonically, Lessons marks a departure from Ha Ha Tonka's more stripped down style to one that is filled with rich instrumentation.