CD-Präsentation: Philipp Scheucher

Just as there are concerts that captivate you from the very first minute, there are recordings that seize you as a listener from the opening bar and do not let go until the end. Odyssey is one such album – and the two musicians are not even playing well-known pieces.
– Alain Steffen, Pizzicato

Under the title “Odyssey”, French-Dutch violinist Cosima Soulez Larivière and Austrian pianist Philipp Scheucher guide us through a world steeped in legend, beginning with Karol Szymanowski’s “Myths”, Op. 30. The three movements, strongly influenced by Impressionism – “Arethusa”, “Narcissus” and “Dryads and Pan” – draw on themes from Greek mythology and are regarded as a milestone in the duo repertoire for violin and piano thanks to their various innovative playing techniques. The two-movement Sonata in E-flat major, Op. 11 No. 1, by Paul Hindemith that follows is also influenced by Impressionism, although Hindemith’s distinctive, simple and “classical” musical language shines through clearly throughout. American composer John Corigliano’s Sonata for Violin and Piano, written in 1962–63, impresses with its wide range of moods, highlighted by strikingly virtuosic passages as well as lyrical or rhythmically complex elements. The album concludes with the breathtaking “Aria” by his compatriot Kevin Puts, described as a “master of polystylism”, who has enjoyed great success in recent years with his latest opera, “The Hours”.