Antonio Brosa (violin)
Frederick Riddle (viola)
Mozart wrote his Duo in B flat during a visit to Salzburg in 1783. The slender combination is handled with perfect assurance, and the introduction's witty pomp is a foil to the serious Allegro that follows. After a serene Andante cantabile the work concludes with a set of sparkling variations.
Honegger's sonata, dedicated to Ginette
Neveu and published in 1948, is in four movements. The work is healthily diatonic and ends with a gay Presto.
As a young man Johan Halvorsen, the Norwegian composer and conductor, was influenced by Grieg and Svendsen. He also toured as a violin virtuoso, and his affection for the instrument is enshrined in this duo, written in 1886. Using the passacaglia from Handel's seventh harpsichord suite as a springboard, he launches out into a display of exuberant virtuosity.
Harry Croft-Jackson