Music for violin by Hindemith, Schoenberg and Mortensen – Frantisek Veselka

Schönberg – Mortensen – Hindemith

“Neoclassicism and “dodecaphony” are the two most important trends in the field of European classical music of the 20th century. Performed by the active chamber musicians Frantisek Veselka and Milena Dratvova, accompanied by the experienced pianist Kirsten Landmark Mæland, this album finds itself in the middle-ground between these two polarities: On the one hand, Paul Hindemith, one of the most prominent figures within Neoclassicism, and on the other hand Arnold Schönberg, having developed the expressionistic style of dodecaphony. The mature Neoclassical style found in Hindemith´s “Sonata in E” stands in stark contrast to the dodecaphony found in Schönberg´s “Fantasy for violin with piano accompaniment”, one of the composer´s most expressive pieces and a striking example of his sophisticated style. And right between the two: the Norwegian modernist composer Finn Mortensen.

As an outstanding representative of the international progressive currents in Norwegian musical life, Finn Mortensen finds himself somewhere between the two. In many ways he was a propagator of the aesthetic attitude in Norwegian music for which Fartein Valen had laid the foundation. Influenced by both Hindemith and Schönberg, Mortensen took it a step further, allowing the international comtemporary trends to seep deeper within the nooks of Norwegian musical life.