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Artist: Itzhak Perlman | Emanuel Ax

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Itzhak Perlman | Emanuel Ax:

Faure & Strauss Violin Sonatas

Legendary violinist Itzhak Perlman is known the world over as one of the most recognizable and beloved classical artists today. The 16-time Grammy winning Perlman celebrates his 70th birthday on August 31; the milestone is marked with multiple releases paying tribute to his catalogue as well as Perlman's first new solo recording in 16 years. Fauré & Strauss Violin Sonatas with pianist Emanuel Axwill be released on August 28 on Deutsche Grammophon/UMC, on the heels of the 25-CD box set Itzhak Perlman: Complete Recordings on Deutsche Grammophon, released May 26 on DG/UMC.

Itzhak Perlman and Emanuel Ax – each winners of multiple Grammy Awards among a myriad of other honors – have teamed up for the exquisite album of Romantic-era masterpieces: the Violin Sonata No. 1 in A Major by Gabriel Fauré and the lone Violin Sonata by Richard Strauss. In addition to this being Perlman's first new solo recording in over a decade, it is also the first recording by this violin-piano team after years of performing together on stage, and the first time Perlman has recorded these two major sonatas. Perlman and Ax will also kick-off a series of concert dates later this year (see below for itinerary).

Describing the Fauré sonata, Perlman says: "It smells like ambrosia – the essence of French music, a lovely piece. For a violinist, its phrases are a real satisfaction to play, as they're so rich." As for the Strauss sonata, Perlman says, "It's by the young Strauss – emotionally heroic, very appassionato. I like to write stories in my mind about the music I play, to help me with the phrasing. This is a dramatic story – although in the slow movement, I imagine it in a coffeehouse, intimate and warm."