Livia Sohn

Violinist Livia Sohn took first prize in the 1989 Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists at the ripe old age of 12, then went on to study at Juilliard with legendary teachers Dorothy DeLay and Felix Galamir. In this new recording, she gives a superb, rousing performance of expertly arranged works by Kurt Weill, Igor Stravinsky, Stephen Prutsman, Joachim Raff, and others.

The detailed liner notes describe the opera fantasy as "the presentation of themes taken from current operas, in new guises," a popular convention of the 19th century for displaying the virtuosity of such performers as Nicolo Paganini. Paganini's delightful arrangement of Rossini's Tancredi, which includes an introduction and variations, demands all of the high-flying wizardry one would imagine: triple-stops, lightning-fast bow work, left-hand pizzicato, and double-stop harmonies (Sohn sounds like a piccolo!), all of which Sohn executes with jaw-dropping ease and grace.

In Jenö Hubay's adaptation of popular tunes from Bizet's Carmen, Sohn is a tour de force. She captures the spirit of the music and convincingly portrays each character, from the pomp of the bullring in the "Torreador's Song," to the seductiveness of Carmen in the famous "Habanera."

But the album's most enticing track is the world premiere of "Desde Mi Ventana (From My Window)," from the modern opera Ainadamar, written by Argentine composer Osvaldo Golijov (winner of a MacArthur Fellowship) and arranged by Stephen Prutsman. Pianist Benjamin Loeb and Sohn are spectacular in their rendition of Golijov's hauntingly gorgeous evocation of lost love. With her icy, whispering tone in the beginning, which increases to a wide, plaintive vibrato, Sohn is quite convincing. Her husband, Geoff Nuttall of the St. Lawrence String Quartet, plays violin on this piece; he also plays viola in a lovely duet with Sohn in Loeb's admirable arrangement of the Pearl Fishers by Bizet.

This album is highly recommended for its ambition and high level of expression.

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