Catalogue # 88697891822

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This is Joshua Bell’s first CD of Sonatas on Sony Classical and\nit is a passionately nuanced interpretation of works from\nSaint-Saëns, Franck and Ravel. Joshua Bell is one of the world’s\nmost successful violinists and has won multiple Grammy awards, was\nawarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Prize and named\nInstrumentalist of the Year by Musical America. Bell was recently\nnamed Music Director for the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields\nbecoming the first person to hold this title since Sir Neville\nMarriner founded the Orchestra in 1958.

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Often referred to as the “poet of the violin”, his 2004 album\nRomance of the Violin was named the “Classical CD of the Year” by\nBillboard Magazine, with Bell named “Classical Artist of the\nYear.”

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The three Sonatas chosen for this disc are very different though\nlinked extraneously through their inherent national style:

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The Saint-Saëns sonata remains one of the most exciting sonatas\nin the repertoire; the feverish finale is guaranteed to bring the\nhouse down. Bell’s recording of César Franck’s Violin Sonata allows\nhim to pay homage, through his mentor Josef Gingold, to the two\ngreat artists who created this undying masterpiece. Written 125\nyears ago, at the height of the French Belle Epoque for the wedding\nof his friend, the virtuoso Eugene Ysaÿe (with whom Gingold\nstudied). Ravel’s more fantastic sonata offers a kaleidoscope of\ndifferent thrills, as seen in the unexpected yet beautiful blending\nof genres in the slow “Blues” movement of his sonata.

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“French Impressions is the culmination of my last decade of\nexploration and performance with pianist Jeremy Denk, and I hope\nthat with this recording we can affect the listener with the same\njoy and spiritual enrichment that these masterpieces have provided\nus with over the years.” Joshua Bell

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Franck, C: Violin Sonata in A major

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Ravel: Violin Sonata in G major

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Saint-Saëns: Violin Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 75

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Joshua Bell (violin) & Jeremy Denk (piano)

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