Author: Jeroen Tersteeg

Following his acclaimed recordings of Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas, concertante works by Stravinsky, Bartók and Martinů, and, more recently, works for violin and piano by Bartók and Szymanowski with pianist Dmytro Choni, BIS Records releases Frank Peter Zimmermann’s recording of Edward Elgar’s Violin Concerto. This monumental work, a “Mount Everest” for any violinist due to its unbridled lyricism and unique proportions, features Zimmermann alongside the London Philharmonic Orchestra under principal conductor Edward Gardner.

In this short video, filmed during the recording sessions, Frank Peter Zimmermann talks about Elgar’s Violin Concerto : https://youtu.be/mSSMjc1R0bk?si=U7-enxp8AFc0m1IU

Link to the recording: https://bisrecords.lnk.to/2847

Frank Peter Zimmermann and Dmytro Choni have been giving concerts together since 2023. On their first album for BIS they play the two sonatas by Bartók and Szymanowski’s Mythes. Following their performance of Bartók’s Sonata no. 1 in Munich last year the Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote: “Zimmermann offers moments of ravishingly elegiac tenderness, in which his crystal-clear high notes shine without indulgence; Choni illuminates the complex harmonies, but also adds percussive touches when necessary. There is no sign of technical difficulties in either of them, only focused energy with which they transform the finale into such a furious perpetuum mobile that it elicits thunderous applause from the audience.”

For more information: https://bisrecords.lnk.to/2787

Pianist Dmytro Choni has signed an exclusive contract with naïve for at least two solo albums, the first one of which has been released on 28 March 2025. Entitled “Pilgrimage” it includes works by Debussy and Silvestrov, as well as Liszt’s Dante Sonata and Lowell Liebermann’s Gargoyles. It is available on all major streaming platforms:

https://dmytrochoni.bfan.link/pilgrimage

BIS Records recently released Frank Peter Zimmermann’s latest CD recording. Together with the Bamberger Symphoniker conducted by Jakub Hrůša he plays Stravinsky’s violin concerto, the first and second Rhapsodies by Bartók, as well as the rarely performed Suite concertante by Martinů. The Strad magazine hails it as “an outstanding album, successful in every regard.”

https://bisrecords.lnk.to/2657