Judith Choi Castro &
John Paul Ekins

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Violin Sonata No. 4 in A major D 574 (Schubert)

i Allegro moderato (A major), ii Scherzo: presto (E major), iii Andantino (C major), iv Allegro vivace (A major)

The Violin Sonata No. 4 (also known as the Duo or Grand Duo) in A major, Op. posth. 162, D 574, for violin and piano by Franz Schubert was composed in 1817. This sonata, composed one year after his first three violin sonatas, was a much more individual work, showing neither the influence of Mozart, as in these previous works, nor of Rossini, as in the contemporaneous 6th Symphony.

Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953)

Violin Sonata No.2 in D Major, Op.94a (Prokofiev)

i Moderato, ii Presto – Poco più mosso del – Tempo I, iii Andante, iv Allegro con brio – Poco meno mosso – Tempo I – Poco meno mosso – Allegro con brio

Sergei Prokofiev’s Violin Sonata No. 2 in D Major, Op. 94a, was based on the composer’s own Flute Sonata in D, Op. 94, written in 1942 but arranged for violin in 1943 when Prokofiev was living in Perm in the Ural Mountains, a remote shelter for Soviet artists during the Second World War. Prokofiev transformed the work into a violin sonata at the prompting of his close friend, the violinist David Oistrakh. It was premiered on 17 June 1944 by David Oistrakh and Lev Oborin.

Performers

Judith Choi Castro - Violin

Spanish-South Korean violinist Judith Choi-Castro enjoys a versatile career performing internationally as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestra player. She also collaborates in making recordings, and is the artistic director of the Festival y Academia de Música Internacional in Tenerife.

John Paul Ekins - Piano

In demand as a recitalist, concerto soloist and chamber musician, John Paul Ekins has given performances throughout the UK and Northern Ireland, and overseas in the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Kuwait, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain and Switzerland, and he has been broadcast on the BBC, on Romanian national television and radio, and on Polish television. He gained First Class Honours from the Royal College of Music and a Distinction in Master of Performance as a scholar at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he studied with John Barstow and Charles Owen respectively. He was the recipient of a Music Education Award from the Musicians Benevolent Fund, and received generous support from Making Music, The Concordia Foundation, The Razumovsky Trust and The Keyboard Charitable Trust.