Bloch: Violin Sonatas Nos. 1 & 2 'Poème mystique'

 
Bloch: Violin Sonatas Nos. 1 & 2 'Poème mystique' cover $30.00 Special Order
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ERNEST BLOCH
Bloch: Violin Sonatas Nos. 1 & 2 'Poème mystique'
Spectrum Concerts Berlin - Boris Brovtsyn (violin), Dian Ketler (piano)

[ Naxos / CD ]

Release Date: Friday 11 September 2026

This item is only available to us via Special Order. We should be able to get it to you in 3 - 6 weeks from when you order it.

The full range of Ernest Bloch's music for violin and piano can be heard on this album, which journeys from his fiery early works to one of his last compositions. Both violin sonatas explore personal themes: the First, in its barbarism, alludes to the First World War, while the Second, subtitled Poème mystique, was inspired by a dream and is suffused with lyrical episodes drawn from Gregorian chant. The melancholy and ecstasy evoked in Baal Shem derive from Hebrew music, including pre‑existing synagogal melodies. The economy of the neo‑Baroque Suite No. 1 for Solo Violin reveals a more reserved but no less inventive side of Bloch's violin writing.

"The way the sonatas heighten each other's meaning and impact is very apparent from this new recording from Boris Brovtsyn and Diana Ketler, made under the aegis of Spectrum Concerts Berlin, of which both are members. Both players function as a single expressive unit, and clarity, precision and understated virtuosity offset emotional directness throughout. " Gramophone Editor's Choice Oct 26

Tracks:

Violin Sonata No. 2 "Poème mystique" (1924)

Baal Shem - Three Pictures of Chassidic Life (1923)
Vidui: Un poco lento
Nigun: Adagio non troppo
Simchas Torah: Allegro giocoso

Suite No. 1 for Solo Violin (1958)
Prelude
Andante tranquillo
Allegro - Andante
Allegro energico

Violin Sonata No. 1 (1920)
I. Agitato
II. Molto quieto
III. Moderato