FEATURED ALBUM
“Yonan and Merdinger make a superb violin and piano duo, and their first album together in that capacity holds much hope and promise for future joint efforts. ” - Jerry Dubins
— Fanfare Magazine 8/2019
REVIEWS:
"The often-asked question “How could I not have heard them play before?” raised its head again this month when I played Four Centuries, a new CD from pianist Susan Merdinger and violinist David Yonan featuring works by Mozart, Schumann, Bloch and the Chicago-based contemporary composer Ilya Levinson (Sheridan Music Studio susanmerdinger.org). Both players have impressive résumés, but the Berlin-born Yonan made his recital debut in Berlin, Moscow and St. Petersburg at the age of 11. He also studied with the legendary Dorothy DeLay at Juilliard. He has impeccable technique, a sumptuous tone and a real depth to his playing.
A lovely performance of Mozart’s Sonata No.13 in B-flat Major, K454 opens the disc, with the fine balance between the instruments reminding us that the work was written as being “for Piano and Violin.”
Schumann’s Sonata for Violin and Piano No.1 in A Minor, Op.105 is also beautifully played, but it is the 20th century work, Bloch’s Suite Hébraïque that really steals the show here. “It is the Jewish soul that interests me,” said Bloch, and it’s that soul which is at the heart of this three-movement suite and given a brilliant realization by Yonan. It’s stunning playing.
The final work is the world premiere recording of Levinson’s Elegy: Crossing the Bridge, a short piece dedicated to David Yonan, who gave the world premiere in Chicago in 2011. Susan Merdinger is a terrific partner throughout a highly satisfying CD." Terry Robbins, The Whole Note Toronto
"This is a very satisfying recital.
Chicago-based David Yonan is a good violinist blessed with good taste and intelligence.
I could tell right away with the Mozart K454 that Yonan knows how to bring music to life.
This performance is energetic, embulient and unfussy. I was even more impressed by the Schumann. So many violinists get the Schumann violin Sonatas wrong. Too often the tempos drag or the phrasing doesn´t breathe, but that is not the case here. Yonan knows how to pace this music.
He and Susan Merdinger don´t indulge in the extreme tempo fluctuations of Gidon Kremer and Martha Argerich, but their tempos work perfectly, and I found their interpretation very satisfying. Ernest Bloch´s Suite Hebraique is a display vehicle for the violinist´s moody temperament, and Yonan has plenty to display. Ilya Levinson wrote his: Elegy: crossing the bridge in 2011 for David Yonan. It sounds like it could have been written in the first half of the 20th century. It has a contemplative mood, much like the Bloch that precedes it and makes a fitting close to the Program..."
American Record Guide, Joseph Magil 2019
