Lawrence Power - Hindemith: The Complete Viola Music, Vol.2 (2010)

Lawrence Power, Britain's greatest living violist, continues his fascinating and acclaimed series of Hindemith's complete viola music. This second disc features the solo viola sonatas. These works were all written for Hindemith himself to perform and are thus of special significance -- as near to a personal testament, an intimate soliloquy, as exists in his output. The shadow of Bach lies over any composer writting a solo string sonata. This is clear in the Passacaglia from the sonata Opus 11 No 5, where Hindimeth's ultimate model is unmistakably Bach's famous D minor Chaconne. This movement is the first example of a form that was to be one of Hindemith's trademarks throughout his career and it makes the work something of a personal manifesto of artistic ambition.