The dynamic duo kick off this first installment with the Violin Sonatas Nos. 1 and 2, composed by a young Beethoven between 1796 and 1798. These two Mozart-inflected works may appear simple on the surface, but they each brim with rich melody and luminous lyricism, signs of things to come in Beethoven's later oeuvre. Bouchkov and Fujita conclude their program on a moodier note with the Violin Sonata No. 7 in C Minor, which Beethoven wrote in 1802 as he was becoming fully aware of his encroaching deafness, a poignant musical testament to the great inner tumult sparked by that knowledge.

Photo © DR
medici.tv’s broadcasts of the Verbier Festival's 30th anniversary edition are produced with the support of Madame Aline Foriel-Destezet.
Mao Fujita appears courtesy of Sony Classical.