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.
STORIES (re)TRACED
The violin "is capable of three modalities essential to human expression - singing, speaking, and the representation of dance, the last of which has profound personal significance for me," said violinist Nancy Zhou, whose mother is a former professional Bouyei folk dancer from Zhexiang, China. Nancy herself was born in Texas to Chinese immigrant parents and is currently a professor of violin at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in addition to her active solo career. "The album's program explores the confluence of these modalities to varying degrees," with a program that includes Eugène Ysaÿe's Sonata No. 4; Béla Bartók's Sonata for Solo Violin; J.S. Bach's Partita No. 1 in B minor and Fritz Kreisler's Recitativo and Scherzo, Op. 6. Zhou used three different bows for the recording: a transitional bow — made between the Baroque and Classical eras — for the Bach, and two Tourte-model bows — a Peccatte and a Voirin — for the other works. "Each bow enables me to more compellingly manifest the stylistic differences and unique sound worlds of each piece," Zhou said. She plays on a Carlo Bergonzi violin (ca. 1725). BELOW: the second-movement "Fuga" from Bartók's Sonata for Solo Violin - "This electrifying fugue is a grungy and pointillistic nod to J. S. Bach, bringing to life four voices that interact with each other in a kaleidoscope of motions and blistering sound effects," Zhou said.
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