Pijper Violin Sonatas Nos, 1, 2, Solo Sonata, Escher, T.de Leeuw, Voormolen : Graffin(Vn)Blanken(P)

Escher:
Sonata for violin and piano

Leeuw:
Sonatina for violin and piano
Improvisation on the Dutch Christmas song ‘Midden in de winternacht’

Pijper:
Sonata No. 1 for violin and piano
Sonata No. 2 for violin and piano
Sonata for solo violin

Voormolen:
Pastorale for oboe and piano - transcribed for violin and piano, 1940

Philippe Graffin (violin)
Jelger Blanken (piano)

Unfamiliar names to many, Willem Pijper and Rudolf Escher are the two major figures in 20th-century Dutch music. Pijper was a symphonist, composer of operas, and a noted writer on music, and his enthusiasm for motor cars saw him publishing ‘The Artistic Side of Motoring’. One of Pijper’s pupils was Escher, who assimilated the influences of Debussy, Schoenberg and Ravel. He composed two symphonies and became a noted expert on modern music, embracing Boulez.

Hardly better known outside of Holland is Ton de Leeuw, who worked under Messiaen and Hartmann. His early music shows influences of Bartok, Hindemith and Pijper. The Violin Sonata dates from 1951. His later works reflect his interest in music from India and the Far East, and electronic sounds.

This is an important release of little-known music by the most influential Dutch composers of the last century.