/ discography at a glance

A dazzling display! Conductor William Boughton and soloist Daniel Hope (along with the English Symphony Orchestra) put their spin on works for violin and chamber orchestra by Alfred Schnittke, Kurt Weill, and Toru Takemitsu.

Soloist Hope's intonation and control are nothing short of phenomenal; indeed, he seems bred for just this kind of music. It should be said, however, that these works are very much in the postmodern vein and will not appeal to the average violin-and-orchestra enthusiast. Everything here requires concentration, especially from the listener. But perhaps the greatest surprise presented by this release is that Boughton and the ESO seem now to rival Pierre Boulez and groups such as Ensemble Modern for both competence and enthusiasm.

This is a breathtaking achievement

Paul Cook

Winning new fans for modern 'serious' music is all about presentation,
imaginative programming and a playing style that strikes a chord with younger audiences. If in doubt, then violinist Daniel Hope will help show you the way.

Hope thinks of a theme, discusses it - where possible - with the composers concerned and writes his own stimulating CD annotations ... he plays with enormous conviction and his latest disc for Nimbus offers a combination of profound thoughtfulness, relentless energy and a vivid feel for the macabre ... Silent Night would make a marvellous soundtrack for an off-beam Christmas story.

***** (5 Stars) AN OUTSTANDING VIOLINIST:

At 25 Daniel Hope is already a well-known musician ... he captivates in a programme that, with the exception of Weill's Violin Concerto, he studied under its composers. His tone is warm and always expressive, although intellectually deep ... also in the Weill he finds exactly the right sound-world to uncover the singular charm of this work. A further highlight is Takemitsu's Nostalghia ... whose introspective beauty Hope refines, without drifting into sentimentality.

The young violinist Daniel Hope, pupil of Zakhar Bron, demonstrates a
brilliant style, fulfilling strength, intelligence and a sense of risk. His playing has a spectacular attraction: here is a true all-round violinist whose presence is characterized by his passion and his inexhaustable fantasy.

A YOUNG SOLOIST TO TAKE NOTE OF: This is a crossover disc one thinks, out hunting for a different market. But it's crossover of a different sort; from boring to exciting, from classical warhorse to something unusual, from ordinary to brilliant, and great though the composers are, it's the soloist one must take note of.

Daniel Hope is a young British violinist well-known in the concert halls of Europe and Britain. This is his first time on CD, and what a start! Passionate, clean, virtuoso playing with an elegant accompaniment ... A formidable programme for the soloist, but for the listener always approachable and intriguing.

It is rare for an up-and-coming classical performer to debut on record with an album of adventurous modern music, but 25-year-old British violinist Daniel Hope does it here with energy and aplomb. With the English Symphony Orchestra under William Boughton in tow, Hope juxtaposes two works by the late Alfred Schnittke ... with Toru Takemitsu's haunting "Nostalghia" and Kurt Weill's Concerto for Violin and Wind Orchestra (from 1924 and still sounding fresh).

With his astringent tone and flair for dramatic gesture, Hope does justice to these pieces and their highly expressive (and often expressionistic) sound worlds. And, in a refreshing bonus, he also supplies his own committed liner notes. Here's to Hope further investing himself in the new and unusual.

Suddenly a violinist emerges ... who plays so fantastically, so supremely and so originally, that one really wonders why one has not heard about him already. The Englishman Daniel Hope, born in 1974, presents repertoire that he was quite simply born to play.

The central work on this disc is Schnittke's Sonata for Violin and Chamber Orchestra ... Hope's intonation is excellent; his tone elegant and beautiful, with great agility, even in the highly virtuoso passages. In Schnittke's Concerto Grosso it is in both the high and very sonorous low registers of the soloist's instrument that Hope really plays his heart out. Takemitsu's Nostalghia offers a highly impressive musical counterpart.

Today we have Bartoli, Larmore, Podles and especially Kasarova ... and then there is someone else who is currently being propelled into the market: Daniel Hope, pupil and colleague of Yehudi Menuhin.

He has just released his Debut-CD (Nimbus) which clearly stands out in its choice of programme. After a first-hearing of Hope’s recording one is almost voracious to hear what he will record next, equally the standard as well as newly discovered repertoire. There are still those today who can match the great ‘legends’. For example him, there is Hope, and HOPE has long been fulfilled!

HE WHO DARES WINS: no Mendelssohn, no Bruch and no Tchaikovsky - to dedicate a Debut CD entirely to 20th century works requires courage and huge confidence in one's own ability. And not least a label who believes in the artist and who is prepared to take risks. This is the combination present on Daniel Hope's première disc ... Hope has proved himself consistently on stage, and now similarly in the recording studio, boasting a daredevil violinistic ability that at no point leaves us in any doubt. His commitment to new music has been authoritatively inspired through personal contact with composers such as Takemitsu and Schnittke, which adds even more to the appeal of this recording.

Takemitsu's Nostalghia was authorized by the composer ... Hope brings out its many facets with a slim, colourful tone. And Schnittke's polystylicsm ... is grasped by soloist, conductor and orchestra with a winning, clear-cut precision. With Weill's Violin Concerto, Hope is up against the excellent recordings by Tetzlaff (Virgin) and Frank Peter Zimmermann (EMI), and need not worry about any comparison. The further development of this violinist should be followed closely ...

Pick of the week: The 25-year-old Brit with a lusty tone makes a serious and seriously impressive recording debut with four works with four distinct views of dissonance. Hope chose worthy and under-performed pieces that, taken as a group, make a friendly and powerful statement about the 20th-century musical avantgarde.

This appears to be the recording debut of the violinist, Daniel Hope. He is to be congratulated for the enterprising choice of music. No Mendelssohn/Bruch launch for him! He seems totally in sympathy with the music: dedicated and dazzling whether in virtuosity or in poetic sensitivity.

Daniel Hope...

“He always used to say that I fell into his lap“, says Hope of his mentor, Yehudi Menuhin. At the age of eleven the two musicians performed together for television; from 1991 onwards the violin instruction intensified. Hope misses his teacher and friend.

He knows, however, how much he learned from Menuhin, and attempts to convey this in his own concerts - and on his Debut CD, recently released by NIMBUS with works by Weill, Schnittke and Takemitsu. A sensational entrance into such a saturated CD market, so full of “easy listening“.

In interview Hope is as positive a character as his name suggests ... one asks oneself: why are there such constant complaints about the lack of young talent able to carry on the work of “legends“ such as Menuhin.

They do exist. There is Hope. We have HOPE!

What a relief: a highly talented young violinist, who on his first CD presents not the umpteenth interpretation of the Beethoven or Brahms concertos, but instead unknown works from our century.

Daniel Hope, born in England in 1974, possesses not only a stupendous technique, but also the creative intelligence necessary to bring off Kurt Weill's drole Violin Concerto. The bitter charm of this work ... is exactly right in Hope's hands. His tone is slim but has at the same time huge warmth, also avoiding any trace of sentimentality. The works by Schnittke and Takemitsu have an added authenticity through the personal contact between Hope and both composers. In particular Takemitsu's Nostalghia ... captivates us through its deep expressiveness and, true to its title, almost nostalgic beauty. Not an everyday release, in return all the more rewarding.

Especially recommended.