BRAHMS – VIOLIN SONATAS
Natalia van der Mersch | Olivier Roberti
A haptic richness of detail is carried from her violin to our ears in all its finesse thanks to this vibrant soloist who studied under Zakhar Bron and who, with her gigantic musical talent and passion for performance, follows in the footsteps of one of the greatest violinists of all times.
Orchestergraben
A haptic richness of detail is carried from her violin to our ears in all its finesse thanks to this vibrant soloist who studied under Zakhar Bron and who, with her gigantic musical talent and passion for performance, follows in the footsteps of one of the greatest violinists of all times.
Aachener Zeitung
It was an impulsive decision between two creative people who share a common way of feeling: violinist Natalia van der Mersch and pianist Olivier Roberti followed their intuition when deciding to record the three Johannes Brahms sonatas. After a brief, goal-oriented planning session, the recording took place in the picturesque ambiance of the Belgian castle Conjoux. After all, the atmosphere is a crucial constant in the creative process of a production.
That is especially true when we talk about the three sonatas by Johannes Brahms (opus numbers 78, 100, and 108) because the composer felt driven by the magic of the respective locales in which they were written. Brahms composed his first sonata during a summer stay at the Wörthersee (Lake Wörther); the two later works were created at Thunersee (Lake Thuner) in Switzerland. Natalia van der Mersch admits that she and her partner likewise profited from the warm vibrations of summer while recording the three sonatas: “We purposefully produced these recordings in the summertime, exactly because we wanted to capture this atmosphere, with birdsong and the lush green of nature all around us. That’s why it feels like the music itself captures and projects these images and moods.“
Brahms composed his Violin Sonata No. 1 in G major, Opus 78 during his stays in Pörtschach am Wörthersee between 1878 and 1879. The music combines simple beauty with touches of sadness, mirroring Brahms’s personal experiences. Overall, Brahms’s laid-back study of his own life span from spring to fall is free of sentimentality, and instead carried by confidence and balance. Despite its brevity, Sonata No. 2 in A major, Opus 100 is intense and has a lot of depth. Brahms brings the equality of violin and piano to the forefront by letting the piano open the first theme. In the second sonata, an outstanding aspect are the motifs from the “Meistersinger von Nürnberg,“ which shows Brahms’s respect for Wagner’s musical genius, despite the two composers being otherwise considered as diametrically opposed poles in the world of music history of the second half of the 19th century. The third sonata, Opus 108, is the most extroverted and most virtuosic of the three.
Key features here are the strong allusions to Hungarian folk music, for example in the employment of elements from the Czardas chapels. And here, too, the piano part is elevated well above the role of “accompanist.“ It is no coincidence that this sonata was dedicated to pianist Hans von Bülow.
Pianist Olivier Roberti says that interpreting Brahms is a real challenge, especially when it comes to providing a perfect balance between technique and expression, and between piano and violin. The French pianist considers Johannes Brahms a real symphonist, even in his chamber musical sonatas – thus making it most important to think in wide orchestral arches. In this regard – as well as in many others – he is impressed with Natalia van der Mersch’s great intuitive understanding and deep musicality. Olivier Roberti first took note of the highly talented violinist when she took part in a master class in the context of Internationale Musikbegegnungen Enghien (IMUSE), which he curated. Originating out of this idea for collaborative music making has since grown an artistic cooperation of 25 years.
Natalia van der Mersch (née Steurer), of German-Croatian origin, grew up in Essen in West Germany’s Ruhr region. Her musical talent was discovered and supported early by renown violin pedagogues. At age 11, she began her education under Valeri Grodow at Folkwang Universität der Künste and then continued her studies under Zakhar Bron. Later, Igor Oistrakh invited her to join his master class at the Royal Conservatory Brussels, where she completed her soloist education cum laude. During her studies, she received multiple awards, among them the Parke Davis advancement award and the Aalto stage award. She gave her debut with Dvořák’s violin concert and the Slovenian Philharmonics. She has performed with the Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra and Essen Philharmonics and has given concerts at festivals like the Schleswig-Holstein Musikfestival and the Gstaad Musikfestival.
Her CD debut followed as part of the recording “Die Meisterschüler von Zakhar Bron,“ which came out in 1990 and presented young talents like Vadim Repin. Additional recordings followed with renown pianists like Alexander Markovich, Luc Devos, and Eduard Kiprsky. Her most recent CD publication “My Kreisler Album” enjoyed a lot of attention. Last year (2023), Natalia van der Mersch received the Award of Appreciations from the Istanbul Consular Corps.
In 2011, van der Mersch and pianist Natalia Kovalzon founded the Duo Natalia out of their shared passion for chamber music. They published several recordings, among them “La Folia,“ with works ranging from Corelli to Williams. Another CD was dedicated to Russian composers. Nathalia van der Mersch is also involved in charity work. She founded the endowment Lea-Rose which is dedicated to researching rare muscular diseases. She lives in Luxembourg with her family and remains actively involved in music and charity work.
Belgian pianist Olivier Roberti was distinguished at the Royal Conservatory Brussels and received the first prize for virtuosity at the Conservatory Geneva in 1975. He studied under Edouard Vercelli, Carlo Zecchi, and Leon Fleisher, and received artistic inspiration from Ruth Nyes. He performs all over the globe as soloist and chamber musician, among others with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, English Chamber Orchestra, and Czech National Orchestra. His recordings for labels like Cascavel lay proof to his musical interpretational skills. Robert performs in renown concert halls and at large festivals, for example the Pablo Casals Festival. As artistic director of the International Music Academy Switzerland (IMAS), he supports young talents. He also founded the Internationale Musikbegegungen Enghien (IMUSE). As a jury member at international competitions, he supports upcoming generations of musicians.