Janusz Wawrowski - Sequenza

The Guardian 80

(Warner Classics)

Janusz Wawrowski’s exhilarating trawl through the solo violin repertoire of the last century centres on Luciano Berio’s Sequenza VIII from 1976, a piece that carries the reputation of being at the edge of what any violinist can be reasonably expected to be able to play. He catches with authority its sense of one instrument bringing many voices to a conversation, and brings similar poise to the other works here, which are hardly any less demanding.

He begins in a burst of sunshine with Ysaÿe’s solo Sonata No 6, then explores the little heard 1932 Eventyr Suite by the Norwegian violin virtuoso Bjarne Brustad, with its folk-tinged dances and helter-skelter final movement.