Vera Vaidman - violin

Franz Liszt
Piano sonata in B Minor
First recording of the transcription for violin by Noam Sivan.

J.S. Bach
Partita in B Minor, BWV 1002

"Noam Sivan's solo violin transcription of the Liszt Sonata is a marvel economy, relevance and thematic clarity. The work is a thesaurus of violin playing: double-stops, triple-stops, jet-assited scales arpeggios, artificial and natural harmonics seamlessly integrated into the musical line, every imaginable kind of bowing, every color of violin tone, from the robust heartiness of the G string in the basement, to the transcendent purity of the stratospheric harmonics on the E. With senses already a-whirl, our minds were dazzled by the absolute clarity of compound line, which included a completely integrated melody, firmly focusing our attention throughout the continuous interruptions by the virtuosic figuration in the accompaniment" - The Chronicle Herald, Canada

The new solo violin version was described by leading violinists as the most difficult piece ever written.
Upon seeing the score, Itzhak Perlman called it "too difficult"; Gidon Kremer said it was a "crazy idea, but I like crazy ideas"; Joshua Bell found it "intriguing"; and the late Ruggiero Ricci said, "At first I thought you mast be insane, but at a closer look I must express my admiration. Ii is very violinistic, and I look forward to hearing it recorded."

Born in St. Petersburg (then Leningrad), Russia, Vera Vaidman graduated from moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, where her major teachers were Boris Belenky and David Oistrakh. Upon arriving in Israel, she took part in Isaac Stern's master courses at the Jerusalem music Centre and went on to appear frequently as soloist with all the orchestras in the country, among them the Israel Philharmonics, under the baton of Zubin Mehta and Andre Kostelanetz; the Israel Chamber Orchestra, with Rudolf Barshai; the Jerusalem Symphony, led by Gerard Schwarz, Lukas Foss, Sidney Harth, Mendi Rodan; the Israel Symphony Rishon LeZion, conducted by Dan Ettinger.