Béla Bartók; Karol Szymanowski - Frank Peter Zimmermann plays Bartók & Szymanowski

Information

Composer: Béla Bartók; Karol Szymanowski

• Bartók - Violin Sonata No. 1, Sz. 75
• Szymanowski - Mythes, Op. 30
• Bartók - Violin Sonata No. 2, Sz. 76

Frank Peter Zimmermann, violin

Dmytro Choni, piano

Date: 2025

Label: BIS

_____________________

This recording captures the spirit of early musical modernism through works by Karol Szymanowski and Béla Bartók. Szymanowski’s Mythes, a triptych inspired by ancient Greek legends, showcases his distinctive focus on tone color and the seamless fusion of violin and piano through innovative techniques. Bartók, influenced by Szymanowski, composed his two Sonatas for Violin and Piano in the early 1920s—bold, technically demanding pieces that merge Debussy’s and Schoenberg’s modernism with Central European folk traditions. Violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann and pianist Dmytro Choni deliver these pioneering works with vivid artistry, following the acclaim of Zimmermann’s Bartók and Stravinsky recording.

Born in 1965 in Duisburg, Germany, violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann began lessons with his mother at age five and later studied with Valery Gradov, Saschko Gawriloff, and Herman Krebbers. Performing on the 1711 Stradivari “Lady Inchiquin,” generously loaned by the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, he has appeared with leading orchestras worldwide, including the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics, the Royal Concertgebouw, and major U.S. ensembles. A frequent guest at festivals such as Salzburg, Edinburgh, and Lucerne, Zimmermann also performs regularly with pianists Martin Helmchen and Dmytro Choni. Founder of the acclaimed Trio Zimmermann, he boasts an extensive, award-winning discography spanning repertoire from Bach to contemporary composers.