Resonus Classics:
'This album presents three highly distinctive, yet complementary masterworks. The foremost of which is Brahms’s third Piano quartet Op.60 – the Werther quartet; its music unquestionably reflecting the profound emotions of love, despair and overwhelming sorrow which lead to the ultimate demise of the protagonist in Goethe’s famed novel. In this unique and fresh, but highly considered interpretation, a new light is shone on one of Brahms’s greatest works. Hindemith’s moving Viola sonata Op. 11 No.4 blends Germanic depth with French tinged colour, its counterpoint and lyricism showcasing a composer equally adept in complexity and folk-like charm. To conclude the album, Penderecki’s Cadenza for solo viola is a sharp stylistic contrast, to the Brahms, yet draws a powerful message as a companion piece; its exploration of the falling semitone motif covers a vast emotional spectrum with relentless virtuosity, culminating in pained, hoarsely whispered harmonics.'
Debut Album
Potton Hall Recording studio
A lighter moment recording Hindemith Op.11 No.4 with Gorka Plada
Brahms Op.60 with Boris Kucharsky, Thomas Carroll and Gorka Plada
Recording Penderecki Cadenza at Ayriel studios
J. Brahms - Piano Quartet, Op.60
P. Hindemith - Sonata for Viola and Piano, Op.11 No.4
K.Penderecki - Cadenza for Solo Viola
Gramophone Magazine:
'Brahms’s quartet is the main focus of this curious, interesting and very well-recorded programme, juxtaposing his outpouring of feelings for Clara Schumann (and Robert’s fate, too, I suspect, for all the supposed inspiration from Goethe’s The Sorrows of Young Werther), with Hindemith’s lyrical, variation-form First Viola Sonata (1919) and Penderecki’s occasionally overwrought Cadenza (1984). Kucharsky, Haag, Carroll and Girón catch the expressive turbulence of Brahms’s writing very finely; the Scherzo – originally intended as the finale in the 1855/56 original version before Brahms rewrote the piece almost two decades later – is full of passion, the Andante of romance.'
'Much the same applies to Hindemith’s sonata; Haag and Girón give a thoroughly poised, sweet-toned performance (especially in the opening Fantasie) and render both sets of variations that follow with aplomb.'
'Haag gets to the heart of Penderecki’s Cadenza – often heard in Christiane Edinger’s violin version prepared in 1987 – very well indeed, projecting its retrospective romanticism very convincingly.'
Brahms:
Piano Quartet No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 60: III. Andante
Listen
Hindemith:
Sonata for Viola and Piano, Op.11 No.4: I. Fantasie
Penderecki:
Cadenza for Solo Viola
(Complete album available on all streaming platforms)
Live Recordings
J.Brahms : String quintet Op.111 - July 2024
N. Boulanger: 3 pieces, with Ivelina Krasteva - February 2025
J. Brahms: First viola sonata Op. 120, Movements 1 and 2, with Ivelina Krasteva - December 2024
J.S Bach - Suite BWV 1007, Prelude - July 2024