German violinist Carolin Widmann’s L’Aurore is her seventh recording for ECM New Series and her first solo violin disc for the label.

The CD includes Johann Sebastian Bach’s Partita in D minor, George Enescu’s 1932 Fantaisie Concertante, Eugène Ysaÿe’s 1923 Sonata No. 5, Three Miniatures of the contemporary British composer George Benjamin, and Hildegard von Bingen’s 12th century antiphon Spiritus sanctus vivificans vita played twice.  

In the hands of a lesser artist, an hour and a quarter of unaccompanied violin music could be heavy going, yet Widman’s nobly elegant playing and sober interpretations make the listening time fly by.

Impeccably engineered L’Aurore was recorded in July 2021 in Lugano, and  excellently produced by Manfred Eicher in a package that includes copious annotations by the artist.

Rafael de Acha © 2022