Suite for Violin and Piano WV18
Sonata No. 1 for Violin and Piano WV24
Sonata for Solo Violin WV83
Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano WV91

As I had pointed out in this review of one of his previous recordings, violinist Bruno Monteiro has a way of dramatically changing the tonal color of his instrument, sometimes note by note, based on the music's character at any given moment. A technique that his quite captivating and effective. And particularly effective for example in the post-Romantic Sonata No. 1 for Violin and Piano WV24 from 1913. The first two movements, in my opinion, sound very much as if they could have been composed by Alexander Scriabin during the final stages of his life. Strongly passionate and constantly expanding his harmonic reach. Erwin Schulhoff (1894-1942) wrote this Sonata in such a way where Bruno Monteiro and pianist Joao Paulo Santos can't help but feed off each other's energy, be it bright or dark. The same could be said about the foreboding slow movement of the 1927 Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano WV91 in which grim and sullen expressiveness is the order of the day. As a matter of fact most of Schulhoff's music is "hard", and by that I don't mean difficult, but rather stern and severe. But Bruno Monteiro's eloquent playing cuts through its tough exterior and reveals the earnest intensity burning at its core.

Erwin Schulhoff was a Czech composer of German-Jewish descent. He received his musical education in Cologne, Leipzig and Vienna. Under the Nazis he was captured for his Jewish identity and his music, which the Germans considered "Entartete" (Degenerate). He died tragically in a concentration camp in 1942. {Brilliant Classics}

Jean-Yves Duperron - November 2016