French Music for Viola – Lars Anders Tomter

Tomter and Gimse in the French viola repertoire

Lars Anders Tomter and Håvard Gimse make a fine duo on this album consisting of works by the two near-contemporaries César Franck and Henry Vieuxtemps. Lars Anders Tomter is one of today´s most exceptional violists and Håvard Gimse has firmly established himself as one of Norway´s leading musicians with an expansive repertoire. Together they perform sonatas – and in Vieuxtemps´ case, a capriccio and an elègie – by the two game changing composers.

The duo´s version of Franck´s “Sonata for Violin and Piano in A major”, in Tomter´s own arrangement, is nothing less than extraordinary beautiful, while the sophisticated figurations in Vieuxtemps´ “Sonata in B flat major” is well taken care of by the two exceptional instrumentalists. No less sensational is Tomter´s soloistic skills in the latter composer´s “Capriccio in C minor” and “Elègie”.