Youthful experiments vs. mature wisdom Vol. 2
Vol. 2 of Antje Weithaas‘ Trilogy with works of the two cycles. It was Antje Weithaas’s own idea to jointly record Johann Sebastian Bach’s six sonatas and partitas for solo violin in conjunction with Eugène Ysaye’s six solo violin sonatas. “The works by Bach are rather well-known”, she remarks. “But what about the Ysaye sonatas? Ysaye is invariably shoved into the virtuoso corner, but as a composer he is to be taken quite seriously!” - Now the No. 2: On the second CD in her Bach-Ysaye-trilogy, Antje Weithaas follows a path from darkness to light.
J. S. Bach‘s Sonata in A Minor resembles a sacred passion without words; Ysaye’s dramatic Third Sonata is entitled Ballade, and the first movement of Ysaye’s Fifth Sonata evokes a sunrise (L’aurore ). The CD closes with Bach’s Partita in E Major! “This work is the simplest one in the entire cycle of sonatas and partitas. I don’t mean ‘simple’ as ‘easy to play’, but in terms of its musical statement: here, Bach chooses the majestic, positive key of E Major.”
„ ….Nevertheless it is particularly exciting and refreshing to hear Weithaas in true isolation with her beautiful and varied tone (on her modern Greiner violin which she plays with extraordinary skill of compensation, exspecially when maintaining the heavy poise of the Chaconne) and absolutely meticulous technique. Most of all, you can hear her complex thinking clearly evidenced in the light but ever-present dance lilt in all Bach’s movements, despite their musical and intellectual gravities. …..“ (The Gramophone, March 2015)
Brimming with energy, Antje Weithaas brings her compelling musical intelligence and technical
mastery to every detail in the score. Her charisma and stage presence are captivating, but never
overshadow the works themselves. Her wide-ranging repertoire encompasses a large portion of
major concerto and chamber music works from the Baroque age to the present day.
As a soloist, she has made appearances with a great number of orchestras in Europe and around
the globe, collaborating with conductors such as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Dmitri Kitayenko, Sir Neville
Marriner, Marc Albrecht, Yakov Kreizberg, Sakari Oramo, and Carlos Kalmar.
With her infectious zest for communication, Antje Weithaas has become a sought-after leader in
“Play-Conduct concerts” with internationally renowned chamber orchestras. She was Artistic Director
of the Camerata Bern for almost ten years and still returns to work with them on a regular basis.
Her concerts as Associated Artist of the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris in the 2021/22 season led
to an immediate re-invitation.
Weithaas’s recordings include the solo sonatas of Bach and Ysaÿe, the Ligeti horn trio, Beethoven
quartets, Schubert trios, and the violin concertos of Beethoven, Schumann, Berg, and Khachaturian.
More than anything else, Antje Weihaas is a chamber music musician par excellence and is playing
with many high qualified partners.
She won the Kreisler Competition in Graz in 1987 and the Bach Competition in Leipzig in 1988, as
well as the renowned Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition Hanover in 1991. Together
with Oliver Wille, she recently assumed the artistic directorship of the Joachim competition.
After teaching at the Berlin University of the Arts, Antje Weithaas was appointed to a chair at the Hochschule
für Musik “Hanns Eisler” in 2004, where she has acquired a pre-eminent worldwide reputation
as a violin teacher. She plays on a 2001 Peter Greiner violin. www.antje-weithaas.de
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. He enriched established German styles through his skill in counterpoint, harmonic and motivic organisation, and the adaptation of rhythms, forms, and textures from abroad, particularly from Italy and France. Bach's compositions include the Brandenburg Concertos, the Goldberg Variations, the Mass in B minor, two Passions, and hundreds of cantatas. His music is revered for its technical command, artistic beauty, and intellectual depth.
Bach's abilities as an organist were highly respected during his lifetime, although he was not widely recognised as a great composer until a revival of interest in and performances of his music in the first half of the 19th century. He is now generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.
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