Stradivariazioni

Martin Riseley (violin)
Diedre Irons (piano)

The variation form is at the foundation of many forms of music, and was of particular importance in the classical period. Stradivariazioni demonstrates various elements of the form: a central unifying theme throughout the long discourse of Schubert's brilliant Fantasy; the tension release of a set of variations in the last movement of Beethoven's final violin sonata; the technical possibilities on display by using variations on a theme in Ravel's Tzigane; and a set of variations by Prock in which each variation captures the composer's idea of a different violin by Stradivari and its unique character.