Charles Matthews & Julia Hwang - Subito (2017) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

Subito: suddenly, or immediately. And something else besides – a moment of revelation or transformation, charged with surprise.

When Witold Lutoslawski gave this title to the showpiece that he wrote for a violin competition in Indianapolis in 1994, he evoked all these qualities, and more: that delighted astonishment; the brilliant, piercing moment of musical communion between performer and listener that comes with true virtuosity.

On her debut disc, Julia Hwang has taken that idea, of virtuosity as communication, and embraced it from four very different directions. Grieg’s Violin Sonata No. 3 blends virtuosity with traditions both local and international, to say something unambiguously personal. Vaughan Williams' 'The Lark Ascending' refines violin technique into expression as pure as the song of a skylark. Lutoslawski’s 'Subito' creates a brief, dazzling moment whose very brilliance is its own meaning; and Henryk Wieniawski, entertainer par excellence, spins fantasy from another man’s tunes in his 'Fantaisie brillante sur des motifs de l’Opéra Faust de Gounod' – enriching them in the process.

TRACKLIST

Edvard Grieg (1843-1907)

1 Violin Sonata No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 45: I. Allegro molto ed appassionato 09:34
2 Violin Sonata No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 45: II. Allegretto espressivo alla Romanza 07:32
3 Violin Sonata No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 45: III. Allegro animato 08:01

Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)

4 The Lark Ascending 14:30

Witold Lutosławski (1913-1994)

5 Subito: III. Allegro animato 04:49

Henryk Wieniawski (1835-1880)

6 Fantaisie brillante sur des motifs de l’Opéra Faust de Gounod 17:08

PERSONNEL
Julia Hwang (violin)
Charles Matthews (piano)