For the Record, Op. 317: Emmanuele Baldini, Shannon Lee, Michael Jinsoo Lim

January 26, 2025, 1:39 PM · Welcome to "For the Record," Violinist.com's weekly roundup of new releases of recordings by violinists, violists, cellists and other classical musicians. We hope it helps you keep track of your favorite artists, as well as find some new ones to add to your listening! Click on the highlighted links to obtain each album or learn more about the artists.

Violinist Emmanuele Baldini. Photo by Fernando Ruz.

Francisco Mignone: Complete Violin Sonatas
Emmanuele Baldini, violin
Lucas Thomazinho, piano

Italian violinist Emmanuele Baldini, who is concertmaster of the São Paulo State Symphonic Orchestra, performs the violin sonatas of Brazilian composer Francisco Mignone (1897-1986). Mignone was was part of the first generation of modernist Brazilian composers that included Villa-Lobos and Guarnieri. Mignone’s two early unnumbered sonatas reveal the French influence of Fauré and Debussy, but it was not until the 1960s that he returned to the genre. The First and Second Sonatas share a fragmented, experimental character that juxtapose varying forms of tonality and meter, while the Third Sonata features national rhythmic and melodic elements. These sonatas represent some of the most significant works for violin and piano to come from Brazil. BELOW: Francisco Mignone's Violin Sonata No. 1: II. Allegretto amabile

Witraz (Stained-Glass Window)
Shannon Lee, violin
Arseniy Gusev, piano

Taking its name from the Polish word for stained-glass windows, Witraz draws parallels to the shattered windows of England’s Winchester Cathedral during the English Civil War. When Oliver Cromwell’s soldiers destroyed the cathedral's medieval stained-glass windows, the townspeople salvaged the shards, rearranging them into mosaics that preserved a sorrowful yet beautiful reminder of what was lost. Similarly, this album reconstructs the musical fragments left by Eastern European composers whose works reflect a world forever altered by two global conflicts. It includes works by Béla Bartók's First Sonata for Violin and Piano, Igor Stravinsky's Duoe Concertante, and shorter works by Karol Szymanowski, Borys Lyatoshynsky, Bohuslav Martinu, and Grazyna Bacewicz. BELOW: Stravinsky's Duo Concertante, IV. Gigue.

Kinetic
Michael Jinsoo Lim, violin

This album features dance-themes works for violin, including multiple world premieres: of music by Lim’s wife, violist and composer Melia Watras, as well as by Paola Prestini and Leilehua Lanzilotti, along with music of John Corigliano and Astor Piazzolla. "As concertmaster and solo violinist for Pacific Northwest Ballet, I have found myself at the intersection of music and dance for over 15 year," Lim said. "Each piece has a connection to dance, and collectively, the music represents much of my musical life." BELOW: Paola Prestini's "A Jar Full of Bees."

If you have a new recording you would like us to consider for inclusion in our "For the Record" feature, please e-mail Editor Laurie Niles. Be sure to include the name of your album, a link to it and a short description of what it includes.

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For the Record, Op. 317: Emmanuele Baldini, Shannon Lee, Michael Jinsoo Lim

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