Amy Beach & Richard Strauss: Violin Sonatas

The differences between Beach and Strauss can be analyzed from at least two different perspectives – official, and less official. But let’s first highlight their similarities in at least one sentence: both were products of their time, and probably neither could have affected their position more than they did. The official differences between the two have to do with their respective positions in society. The album is performed on period isntruments. Maalismaa’s violin is a Mantuan Dall’Aglio from around 1800, and Holmström’s piano is a sight to behold. lt is an 1882 Bösendorfer grand built in Vienna that has survived wars and a journey across Europe.