Beethoven: Violin Sonatas No. 1, 10 & 5 "Spring" Lorenzo Gatto & Julien Libeer

• Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): Violin Sonata No. 1 in D Major, Op. 12, No. 1:
• 1 I. Allegro con brio 08:48
• 2 II. Tema con variazioni. Andante con moto 06:56
• 3 III. Rondo. Allegro 04:49
• Violin Sonata No. 10 in G Major, Op. 96:
• 4 I. Allegro moderato 09:56
• 5 II. Adagio espressivo 05:45
• 6 III. Scherzo. Allegro - Trio 02:01
• 7 IV. Poco allegretto 08:40
• Violin Sonata No. 5 in F Major, Op. 24 "Spring":
• 8 I. Allegro 09:48
• 9 II. Adagio molto espressivo 05:57
• 10 III. Scherzo. Allegro molto 01:17
• 11 IV. Rondo. Allegro ma non troppo 06:29
• Total Runtime 01:10:26

Info for Beethoven: Violin Sonatas No. 1, 10 & 5 "Spring"

Building on the success of their first album of Beethoven violin sonatas, which won a Diapason dOr of the year (the magazine hailed the birth of a great duo) and Choc de Classica, Lorenzo Gatto and Julien Libeer continue their complete recording of the cycle. Beethovens sonatas have become the core of our musical lives. Rehearsed, tried out in concert, given a rest, rehearsed again. Since performing the entire cycle over three consecutive evenings at Flagey in Brussels in 2016, they have played them repeatedly, and they met again at the end of 2017, at the Hilversum studio in Amsterdam, to record three more sonatas: Surprise, even now?... Anyone who frequents Beethoven for a long time is no longer surprised to be surprised. For him, everything is coherent, but nothing is written in advance. So they experiment here again and Julien has chosen a piano with parallel stringing: The resonance of Chris Maene Straight Strung illuminates this music in a subtly different way. We enjoy ourselves. (Lorenzo Gatto, Julien Libeer)

Lorenzo Gatto, violin
Julien Libeer, piano

Lorenzo Gatto
“Creative artist”, “libertarian violinist”, “passionate virtuoso”: such are some of the expressions used by a unanimous press to describe Lorenzo Gatto’s talent and passion and it has to be said that he maintains a vibrant relationship with his public.

A true revelation in the eyes of the greater public and international critics through his second prize and Public’s prize at the prestigious Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition (Concours Musical International Reine Elisabeth) 2009, Lorenzo Gatto’s talent has also been recognised with his winning of many other prizes of which the 1st prize and Public’s Prize at the International RNCM Competition in Manchester (age 18) and the 1st prize at the International Andrea Postacchini Competition in Italy (age 16).

From the age of 12, Lorenzo Gatto has been invited to play at famous festivals and renowned halls around the whole of Europe such as the Palais des Beaux-Arts (Bozar) and Flagey in Brussels, Philharmonie in Luxemburg, the Cortot Rooms in Paris, the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, etc. It is also with orchestras that he has enriched his experience playing, notably with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra (under the direction of V. Sinaisky), the Belgian National Orchestra (under the direction of G. Varga, E. Aadland and E. Mazzola), the Royal Flemish Philharmonic Orchestra (under the direction of P. Herreweghe and J. van Zweden), the Philharmonic Orchestra of Luxemburg (under the direction of E. Krivine), the Wallonia Chamber Orchestra (under the direction of P. Goodwin et A. Dumay),… and, of course, through his various encounter with great musicians such as Seiji Ozawa, Robert Mann, Pamela Frank, Midori, Zakhar Bron, Salvatore Accardo, Julian Rachlin,…

Born in Brussels (Belgium) in December 1986, Lorenzo Gatto started studying the violin at the age of 5. As soon as he was 12 he joined the Brussels’ Royal Conservatory of Music in Véronique Bogaerts’ class where, at 17, he gained the higher diploma for violin with the highest distinction. After this he continued to perfect his playing under Herman Krebbers in Holland and Augustin Dumay at the Queen Elisabeth College of Music. Since 2005, Lorenzo has been studying with the pedagogue Boris Kuschnir (Kunstuniversität, Graz and the Conservatory of Vienna). Recently, Lorenzo Gatto has made a Enescu-Martinu recording for the Fuga Libera label with the pianist Milos Popovic (coming out at the beginning of 2010). He has also recorded string trios and Schubert’s ‘The Trout’ as well as the Divertimento (Mozart) album, for the UT3-records’ label. In the near future, Lorenzo will be recording Vieuxtemps’ Concerto n°4 with the Liège Philharmonic Orchestra (Belgium) under the direction of Patrick Davin, but also Martinu’s Concerto n°2 with the Belgian National Orchestra under the direction of Walter Weller.

Having been elected Rising Star 2010-2011, Lorenzo will soon perform in the major European locations, such as the Birmingham Symphony Hall, the Cité de la Musique in Paris, the Wiener Musikverein, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, and then in Barcelona, Baden Baden, Hamburg, Cologne, Luxemburg, Athens, etc. Among some of the major projects in the pipeline, we can also point out a residential post at the Brussels Center for Fine Arts (Palais des Beaux-Arts, Bruxelles) for the 2010-2011 season, concerts with the Royal Flemish Philharmonic Orchestra (de Filharmonie), the New Russia Orchestra and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra...

As a committed musician, in 2007 Lorenzo Gatto co-founded the Cl4ssiK association, with the aim of encouraging young people to be more aware of classical music. A multi-media concert tour on the theme of seasons has been planned for 2010 and 2011.

Julien Libeer
Born in 1987 near Brussels, Belgium, Julien Libeer’s earliest musical memory was the famous documentary on the recording of West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein. The piano, which he took up at age six, quickly became the faithful companion for expressing a love of music that, until today, thrives as much on opera, orchestra and chamber music as on the piano repertoire.

For five decisive years, French-Polish pedagogue Jean Fassina was the patient, demanding, wise teacher that any aspiring musician should have the chance to encounter. This experience was followed by the equally intense collaboration with Maria João Pires at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, whose advice and support strongly influenced Julien Libeer’s views over the last years, and continue to do so.

Julien Libeer has been the guest of the Palais des Beaux-Arts and Flagey in Brussels, the Théâtre de la Ville (Paris), the Barbican Hall in London, the Auditorio Nacional in Madrid, Barcelona’s Palau de la Musica and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. Other tours take him to Japan (Tokyo, Sumida Tryphony Hall), Lebanon (Beirut Chants festival), the US (Miami International Piano Festival). He has performed with the Brussels Philharmonic, the Belgian National Orchestra, deFilharmonie, Sinfonia Varsovia and the New Japan Philharmonic among others, under conductors like Michel Tabachnik, Augustin Dumay, Serge Pehlevanian, Joshua Weilerstein, Enrique Mazzola, Christopher Warren-Green…

An accomplished chamber musician, he works on regular basis with Augustin Dumay, Camille Thomas, Frank Braley, Maria João Pires and Lorenzo Gatto, with whom he performs the complete Beethoven violin sonatas in Belgium and abroad over the next few seasons.

Julien Libeer has studied piano with Daniel Blumenthal (Royal Conservatory of Brussels), Jean Fassina (Paris), and is an associate artist of the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, where he also specialized in chamber music with the members of the Artemis Quartet. Furthermore, he has received the advice of Dmitry Bashkirov, Alfred Brendel, Abdel Rahman El Bacha and Gerhard Schulz (Alban Berg Quartet).

Although he consciously avoided engaging in any kind of competition, has received such honorary prizes as the Juventus award (most promising young European soloist) in 2008, and was elected Young Musician of the Year by the Belgian Music Press Association in 2010. The Klara award 2013 was attributed to him by the audience of the national radio for classical music. Much appreciated for his eloquence, Julien Libeer is a regular guest of media at home and abroad. His work has been subject of a TV documentary ("Technique doesn't exist", 2013), also available on YouTube.

Based in Brussels, he spends most of his free time reading, swimming or enjoying a good series, and is actively engaged in a number of social projects, all rooted in the idea that music, far beyond its esthetic value, can be a force of change for anyone ready to listen.

This album contains no booklet.