Yarlung Records - 95990-787V  - 180 Gram Virgin Vinyl -

Mastered By Steve Hoffman and Doug Sax

Pure Analogue Audiophile - Pressed at Pallas in Germany

Grammy Award winning Yarlung Records brings fresh musicians to the classical music world using minimalist audiophile recording techniques to deliver sound as close to a live performance as possible. Rather than using recording studios, engineer Bob Attiyeh produces these albums in concert halls famous for their acoustics, including Walt Disney Concert Hall and Ambassador Hall in Los Angeles. Yarlung uses analog tape for 180g vinyl LPs mastered by Steve Hoffman.

Yarlung repertoire ranges from the 11th century through the Baroque, Classical and Romantic eras, with a special focus on new music from the 20th and 21st centuries. Artists include top soloists as well as superstar young musicians at the beginnings of their international concert careers.

Petteri’s affable personality galvanized as much support for this debut recording as did his exceptional talent with the violin. Listen to the colors Petteri employs in the first movement of the Debussy sonata, especially in the flautando sections. Or the extreme tenderness of the second movement of Ysaÿe’s Sonata No. 2. And then compare that with the icy brilliance of the same sonata’s fourth movement after the one-minute mark. Note too the yearning of an entire nation, perhaps the entire Twentieth Century, in the arrival of the Eli Eli theme in tracks twelve and thirteen. (Yarlung Artists commissioned David Lefkowitz to write Eli Eli for Petteri, in honor of Hagai Shaham.) And then evaluate this music in comparison with the titanic Bach Partita, and enjoy the world of color and emotion that Petteri delivers in this final work on his recording. - Bob Attiyeh/producer

Grammy Award winning Yarlung Records brings fresh musicians to the classical music world using minimalist audiophile recording techniques to deliver sound as close to a live performance as possible. Rather than using recording studios, engineer Bob Attiyeh produces these albums in concert halls famous for their acoustics, including Walt Disney Concert Hall and Ambassador Hall in Los Angeles. Yarlung uses analog tape for 180g vinyl LPs mastered by Steve Hoffman.

Yarlung repertoire ranges from the 11th century through the Baroque, Classical and Romantic eras, with a special focus on new music from the 20th and 21st centuries. Artists include top soloists as well as superstar young musicians at the beginnings of their international concert careers. Yarlung brings artists into your living room; you can hear their music, their breathing, and almost their heartbeats.

"...extremely gifted and polished.... Petteri plays with natural raw talent and extraordinary technical and musical finesse... his personality infuses his music with a charm and depth especially welcome today. A young master." - Hagai Shaham

Petteri’s affable personality galvanized as much support for this debut recording as did his exceptional talent with the violin. Listen to the colors Petteri employs in the first movement of the Debussy sonata, especially in the flautando sections. Or the extreme tenderness of the second movement of Ysaÿe’s Sonata No. 2. And then compare that with the icy brilliance of the same sonata’s fourth movement after the one-minute mark. Note too the yearning of an entire nation, perhaps the entire Twentieth Century, in the arrival of the Eli Eli theme in tracks twelve and thirteen. (Yarlung Artists commissioned David Lefkowitz to write Eli Eli for Petteri, in honor of Hagai Shaham.) And then evaluate this music in comparison with the titanic Bach Partita, and enjoy the world of color and emotion that Petteri delivers in this final work on his recording. - Bob Attiyeh, producer

This album was recorded in Alfred Newman Hall at the University of California. Newman Hall exemplifies the warm yet transparent and lively sound of the concerts halls favored for audiophile recordings, and its acoustics adjust easily to provide different lengths of decay. The legendary Austrian AKG C-24 stereo microphones were chosen with the original brass surround CK12 tube as well as a five-foot long Yarlung-Records-designed interconnects with a flat silver ribbon suspended in air for the dielectric, customized vacuum tube preamplifiers and no mixer. The signal path was a short as was possible, with as few electronics between performer and final product. You will enjoy the results!!!

Yarlung Records is an organization that promotes young, undiscovered artists by producing their debut albums. What a find in Finnish-born violinist Petteri Iivonen. Brought to attention by famed violinist and pedagogue Hagai Shaham, Iivonen possesses a rare synthesis of skills for such a young artist: brilliant technique that does not overshadow instinctive musical decisions. His chosen program for his debut album is varied but logically tied together. It opens with Ysaÿe's Second Violin Sonata -- which begins with a direct quote from Bach's G minor Sonata -- and comes full circle to end with Bach's D minor Partita. In the center is Debussy's masterful Violin Sonata (the last work the French giant was to complete), the Sallinen Cadenze, Ysaÿe's Fourth Sonata, and the Lefkowitz Eli Eli, commissioned especially for Iivonen and this album. As diverse as the compositions are, so, too, are the different colors, temperaments, and moods of Iivonen's playing. The two Ysaÿe sonatas are bold and assertive, while the Bach is elegantly refined without becoming timid. His tone in both is rich, vibrant, and powerful. Iivonen completely changes gears in the Debussy and, along with pianist Kevin Fitz-Gerald, produces a suave, misty sound quality ideally suited for Debussy's late work. Just as exceptional as Iivonen's own playing and sound is the way Yarlung Records captures it. The liner notes even take the unusual step of detailing the precise setup used in the recording process. Yarlung favors a highly natural, unadorned sound quality that really lets Iivonen's inherent beauty and refinement shine through.-Allmusic

Petteri Iivonen The Art Of The Violin Track Listing:

1.  Sonata No. 2 Mov 1 Obsession    
2.  Sonata No. 2 Mov 2 Malinconia   
3.  Sonata No. 2 Mov 3 Danse des ombres
4.  Sonata No. 2 Mov 4 Les Furies   
5.  Cadenze   
6.  Violin Sonata in G Minor Mov 1 Allegro vivo   
7.  Violin Sonata in G Minor Mov 2 Intermede: Fantasque et leger   
8.  Violin Sonata in G Minor Mov 3 Finale: Tres anime   
9.  Sonata No. 4 Mov 1 Allemanda
10. Sonata No. 4 Mov 2 Sarabande
11. Sonata No. 4 Mov 3 Finale
12. Eli Eli
13. Eli Eli    
14. Partita No. 2 in D Minor BWV 1004, Mov 1 Allemanda   
15. Partita No. 2 in D Minor BWV 1004, Mov 2 Corrente   
16. Partita No. 2 in D Minor BWV 1004, Mov 3 Sarabanda    
17. Partita No. 2 in D Minor BWV 1004, Mov 4 Giga   
18. Partita No. 2 in D Minor BWV 1004, Mov 5 Ciaccona