Duo MAISS YOU: Burkhard Maiss, Violin | Viola & Ji-Yeoun You, Piano

On this recording the Duo MAISS YOU presents two standard works of the modern classical literature, Béla Bartók's Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2 (1922) and Leoš Janáček's Sonata for Violin and Piano (1914–21), contrasting them with the Sonata for Viola and Piano Op. 156 (2018) [World Premiere Recording!] by the contemporary composer Roland Leistner-Mayer (b. 1945).
Bartók and Janáček (who were both dedicated ethnomusicologists) take the folk music of their Hungarian and Moravian native countryside as starting point for bold and inspired creations. For both composers, the return to folk music was not a nostalgic longing for the good old days, but a source of new ways of expression which they then expand and develop; an enrichment of modern music with a folk music-inspired facet.
The composer Roland Leistner-Mayer, born in Bohemia, distanced himself from the experimental avant-garde in favour of an expressive, authentic musical diction. He has found stimulus and inspiration in the modern style of Bartók and Janáček, among others, which he has taken up fruitfully and made his own.


The Duo MAISS YOU was founded by Burkhard Maiss and Ji-Yeoun You. The duo formation is dedicated to the music for violin and piano and – to the same degree – to the sister genre for viola and piano. In order to explore exciting combinations of compositions even within a single program, the duo utilizes both the violin and the viola in their concerts – a practice only rarely present in nowaday’s concert life. With the CD recording of the Violin Sonata op. 121 by Schumann and the Viola Sonata op. 120-1 by Brahms (TYXart records, Ord. No. TXA18110), the duo MAISS YOU has also officially moved into the forefront of excellent chamber music ensembles.
Burkhard Maiss is founding member of the Jacques Thibaud Trio and has traveled the world giving concerts for more than twenty-five years. He has performed in the most prestigious concert series around the world, receiving tremendous acclaim from the critics and the audience. The New York Times wrote that "Burkhard Maiss's violin sound is rich and warm, like full-bodied red wine".
Ji-Yeoun You is teaching at the Berlin University of the Arts as well as at the University of Music Carl Maria von Weber, Dresden. In recognition of her contributions to culture she was awarded the Freedom of the City of Yeosu, her hometown. As soloist, she played in concerts of several orchestras such as the Berlin Symphony orchestra or the Brandenburg Symphony orchestra. At the Musica Nova Festival Glasgow and the Festival Bolzano, she had performances as invited artist.

To be able to make a world premiere recording in the presence of the composer is an extraordinary opportunity for the performers and the recording team, to discuss and implement all musical details directly during work in the studio. We would like to thank Roland Leistner-Mayer for this very much. In combination with the selection of both "modern" and "old" (tube) microphones, natural room acoustics and excellent audio technique, a recording could be realized, which corresponds optimally to the ideas of all participants.

[Extract of the multi-lingual CD Booklet]

CD Programme (Tracklist):