E. GRIEG (1843 — 1907)
SONATA No. 1 FOR VIOLIN AND PIANO in F Major, op. 8
I. Allegro con brio II. Allegretto quasi andantino III. Allegro molto vivace

A. MENDELSOHN (1910 — 1966)
PARTITA ON THE THEME BACH FOR UNACCOMPANIED VIOLIN (1957)
Prelude (first movement). Fugue (second movement)

E. YSAYE (1858 — 1931)
THREE MAZURKAS, op. 11
I. Dance of the sprites (Memory of a mazurka) II. In A Minor III. In В Minor

Piano: A. Ginzburg (1), M. Khlystov (3)

Victor Danchenko was bom in Moscow in a family of musicians. He began musical studies with his father when he was still a little boy. In 1943 he entered the Central School of Music attached to the Moscow Conservatory, where his master was M. Garlitsky.
On finishing the School with a gold medal, Victor Danchenko was admitted to the Moscow Conservatory (Professor David Oistrakh's class). At the All-Union Competition of Violinists held during the Festival of Soviet Youth and then at the International Competition of Violinists of the VI World Festival of Youth and Students (1957), Victor Danchenko, who was at that time a second-year student of the Conservatory, won the first prize and a gold medal. On graduating from the Conservatory the violinist cultivated his talent at postgraduate courses under the guidance of D. Oistrakh.
1961 brought the young pianist yet another triumph: he was granted the title of laureate at the Marguerite Long and Jacques Thibaud International Competition. In 1967, V. Danchenko was awarded a gold medal and the special prize of the Ysaye Foundation in Brussels.
Victor Danchenko concertizes extensively since 1958. His repertory includes works by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Paganini, Ysaye and Glazunov. He also plays music by old Italian masters and works by Soviet authors (Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Khachaturian).
Describing the violinist's performance David Oistrakh said: "The most attractive features of Victor Danchenko's playing are sincerity, temperament and a balanced combination of virtuosic elements with outstanding musical talent".
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The three violin sonatas by Eduard Grieg (1843 — 1907) belong among the finest works in world instrumental music.
Sonata No. 1 for violin and piano in F Major, op. 8 was written in 1865 and when the young composer showed it to Liszt, he estimated it highly saying the following in his letter to Grieg: "I am happy to tell you that I experienced deep satisfaction when reading your Sonata, op. 8. It speaks of a profound, strong and inventive talent for composition, a talent, which left to its own natural way of development, will reach the heights of perfection".
The First Sonata is a sonata-idyll, which reflects the composer's impressions of the beautiful scenery around him, brought to life by the coming of spring. A joyous mood prevails in all the three movements of the work: in the sparkling Allegro, the bucolic Allegretto and in the brisk and sunlit Finale.
The main idea of the initial movement is built on broad soaring melodies, mild changes of harmonic colours and impromptu development. Bright and inspiring motifs also prevail in the
second movement (Allegretto quasi andantino) presented in the unhurried rhythm of the minuet. The middle section here is identified with the spring-dance, a Norwegian rustic dance.
The finale of the Sonata (Allegro molto vivace) represents a brilliant capriccio where the melody, associated with the spring jubilation of Nature, blends with the echoes of the folk dance. The generous use of virtuosic violin texture lends the music of the finale rare refinement and grace.
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Alfred Mendelsohn (1910 — 1966), the well-known Rumanian composer, conductor and teacher, is the author of 8 symphonies, the symphonic poems "The Destruction of Daftana" and "Flowers for Nicos Beloyannis", oratorios "Choria", "1907", "To the Great October Revolution" (to the text of Mayakovsky's poem "Fine!"), cantatas "Bucharest" and "The Voice of Lenin", concertos, string quartets, sonatas and songs.
The Partita on the theme BACH for unaccompanied violin was written In 1957. There are in the history of music quite a number of attempts to give a musical "decipher" of J. S. Bach's name. The theme, consisting of four notes that make up the name, was used by Bach himself in "The Art of the Fugue", by Liszt ("Fantasia and fugue"), Honegger ("Chorale, arioso and fughetta") and other composers. A. Mendelsohn's work comprises two movements: the prelude in which impromptu development prevails and the expressive, dramatically tense fugue. The expressive resources of this stern and brief four-note theme are exploited with unusual adroitness.
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The creative work of Eugene Ysaye (1858 — 1931) represents one of the most vivid pages in the history of West European music. Prominent Belgian violin virtuoso, composer and conductor with a marked propensity for Romantic music, Ysaye represented the connecting link between the world-famous virtuosos of the early 19th century and the generation of violinists, headed by Kreisler, who emerged on the musical scene on the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Already at the dawn of the creative activity of the outstanding Belgian musician, Russian critic N. Kashkin described his performance in the following terms: "E. Ysaye's strongest point is not the superficial brilliance of his playing but the impressive richness of his feelings and imagination".
These characteristic features of Ysaye, the violinist revealed themselves in the creative work of Ysaye, the composer. His most important violin works include six concertos for violin and orchestra, six sonatas for unaccompanied violin and a number of tone poems and mazurkas.
Ysaye's miniatures are refined lyrical pieces, notable for their impromptu character. Such qualities as lavishness of tone nuances, subtle changes of moods and a brilliant and, at the same time, graceful texture lend these pieces rare originality and charm.
E. Dolinskaya