FRIEDRICH CERHA (b.1926): Violin Sonatas No. 1 & No. 3*, Capriccio*, Meditation*, Altes Lied*, Deux éclats en réflexion*, Formation et solution, Rhapsodie, 7 Stücke for Solo Violin*.

Description: This disc provides a fascinating glimpse into the stylistic evolution of a composer who has responded creatively to many of the trends in 29th century music, through the medium of his own instrument. The first sonata and the other works from the 1940s are very fine, but quite conservative for their time, showing the influence of Hindemith and Reger; Meditation and Altes Lied have their origins in central European folk music. By 1954's Third Sonata, an abrupt change has taken place; the work is tightly structured on dodecaphonic principles. Soon after, the Deux eclats and Formation mark another major change, toward a much more modern sound-based idiom, with extended techniques. There is then a hiatus of over 30 years while the composer explored his modernistic, and at times stridently avant garde tendencies, returning to the instrument in 1997 and 2001 with pieces that remain somewhat innovative but mark a return to tradition, with a somewhat Bartókian feeling and sense of harmony. * - First Recordings. Ernst Kovacic (violin), Mathilde Hoursiangou (piano).