Grieg: Violin Sonatas Nos. 1-3, Op. 8, 13 & 45

In Haik Kazazyan's first album for Delos, Opera Fantasies, the brilliant Armenian violin virtuoso demonstrated the fiery, passionate, and technically astonishing sides of his artistry. And the same musical virtues are certainly on display here, in his glowing rendition of the three violin sonatas by the Norwegian master Edvard Grieg.

In this new album - with dazzling and soulful collaboration from the rising young Russian piano wizard Philipp Kopachevsky - he also applies the sensitivity, subtlety, and interpretive insight needed to bring these three chamber masterpieces to vibrant life.

Composed across a period ranging from Grieg's early twenties through middle age, these comparatively unfamiliar pieces not only confirm the composer's winning ways with melodic invention and nationalistic impulse, but also serve as a revealing guide to Grieg's evolution as a composer.