First off, i'd like to remind all of you reviews on music and movies (anything media) is totally opinionated. Some will be shared, and other will be frowned upon. This here epinion for you is a simple 'getting-to-know' who these composers are and what you can find in this CD.

So, first on the CD is EugËne Ysaye's Sonata for Violin Solo, Op. 27, No. 2. This is a beautiful piece, entitled 'Obsession', written for A. Jacques Thiabaud, and is his most famous of the six Sonata's. First up is the Prelude - Poco Vivace. Its funny how Ysaye was - he was a master of simplicity; for example in one of his movements he discretely does a passage where from all four strings lie the same finger patter from top to bottom. I know this sounds awkward, but let me try to better explain it for those players out there: E string - 4th, 2nd, 1st, and open, then repeated the same on the A, D, and G, string. same exact finger pattern, but no true scale either. From the listeners ear is a water flow of notes that make Ysaye who he is as a composer and genius. Anyways that was a tangent way off topic, :) So back to it all. In the first movement, prelude, he uses major lines directly 'cut and paste' from Bach's famous preludio (of the 3rd sonata/partita?). Second, 'Malinconia', uses a line from a famous operatic piece and is a short work. Don’t be fooled, consisting of only eight lines, this piece runs nearly four minutes. Con Sordino, this is the emotional part of the sonata, and is definitely the players choice of manipulation. Thirdly, 'Danse Des Ombres', is a piece written in variations style. With pizz. beginning, this is the theme. Then doing a simple elaboration, moving into a 3rd 'Musette'. Stopping, then going into a key change and whistling away into a neat chord style - those of which I tried explaining to you above. Ending with the same theme in pizz, however Arco. Les Furies, the fourth movement is the fast, crazy, cadenza of an ending. I swear, you must be a MASTER of double-stops (et more) to play this piece nearly distinguishable, but Kaler plays this AMAZINGLY, and at a tempo that cannot be beat. (speed, yes, but the actual tempo he plays it at is perfect. Some other players have gone much faster, but Kaler insists on bringing out the musicality of Ysaye - he's not just a virtuoso!) Overall, this Ysaye sonata is the epicenter of this CD, and Kalers reasoning for choosing it.

After this is Paul Hindemith's Sonata for Violin Solo, Op. 31, No. 1 and No.2. These are both interesting pieces, and something you would expect from Hindemith. To tell you the truth, i've only played one other piece from Hindemith, and that is Symphonic Metamorphosis. Anyways, I wont go into much detail about the piece as I was only trying to make you become more familiar with Ysaye's genius, while these other composer, however not lacking the same brilliancy, are not my forte. The first is five movements, while the second is four. In my opinion the first of the two is much better. The second lacks lyrics, style, and originality - sounds like a tired-mess. However, Kaler again plays these pieces with NO faults, not one scratch, or whistle. A little tidbit, I think Kaler has the best bow arm in a solo artist. And when I say solo, I say it SOLO, not violin concerto, or piano accpt.

Next up is Sergei Prokofiev's Sonata for Violin Solo, Op. 115. This one, aside from the Ysaye, is more popular than the others. I dont really listen to it because I just dont like it at all. (at all). But, Kaler's style is nice, and his vibrato shows through the cracks in the sonata.

Jean Martinon Sonatina No. 5 for Violin Solo, Op. 32, No. 1
This one is a beautiful piece played by Kaler. Kaler does something special to this piece with his style of playing. Again, his bow style is the center for beauty, then the notes. This is a pretty 'random' piece. Notes are everwhere, and there isn't much organization. The second movement, however, has a certain up-beat, and 'Copeland' theme to it, and the ending is just simply cool played by Kaler - a duo of tripple-stops (I think? maybe 2) that sounds AWESOME.

After that is my favorite of all Partitas, simply Vytautas Barkauskas' only Partita. This is a piece consisting of five moments, and two of which are around a minute and a half. Kaler plays the slow, quiet movment similar to that of Ysays' "Maliconia" and shows the beauty easy. Barkauskas is one of those composers that was never TRULY found, and its a sad thing because he's one, even from just listening to this partita, that should have.







Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: At Work