The Romantic Hero

Long before Richard Strauss wrote his epic tone poems, he composed a very young but no less heroic sonata for violin and piano in E-flat, the very key used by Beethoven in his Eroica Symphony. He initially dedicated that symphony to Napoleon until the latter showed his true dictatorial colors. Our hero, Basil Alter, crosses the pond to give us an account of this magnificent work with pianist Evan Solomon, as well as other gems of the violin and p...