Renaud Capuçon and Elena Bashkirova play Ravel, Beethoven, and Janáček

Capuçon and Bashkirova begin with Ravel’s posthumously published Sonata for Violin and Piano, a sonata that contrasts sharply with his other works for that instrumentation, most notably his famous Sonata in G and his “Blues.” The duo then moves on to Beethovenian refinement with his 1801 Sonata No. 5 “The Spring.” The concert comes to a close with the only Sonata for Violin and Piano that Janácek ever completed (two others remain unfinished), a work dating to 1922 that compliments Ravel’s posthumous sonata, which was written around the same time. Popular songs and mysterious atmospheres dominate the four movements, reminiscent of the best themes from the composer’s opera Katja Kabanova.