July 2014
Tim Fain’s combination of Power, precision and deeply expressive playing has made his recordings almost as ubiquitous as Philip Glass’s music. Chances are that you have already heard his distinctive violin on soundtracks to Black Swan or Twelve Years a Slave, but there are far more strings to this violinist’s bow than film music.
Fain’s debut recording, ‘Arches’ (Image Recordings, 2008), featured new works for solo violin by Kevin Puts and Daniel Ott alongside an impressively controlled performance of Bach’s Solo Partita No 2 in D minor. One can see why Glass was keen to collaborate further: his transparent and direct style demands crystal-clear articulation and razor-sharp accuracy, attributes that Fain’s playing possesses in abundance.
The Partita for solo violin, composed especially for Fain in 2011, comprises seven movements… Fain’s brilliant, scintillating rendition of ‘Knee 2’ from Einstein on the Beach, previously heard on ‘River of Light’ (Naxos 8.559662), is also included.
The disc ends with a set of four Interludes for solo violin. Again, Fain’s incisive playing cuts through, and is altogether more direct and immediate than Robert McDuffie’s live recording with Marin Alsop and the LPO (Orange Mountain, 12/l0). Pwyll ap Siôn
Read the full review in the magazine
Glass
Partita. Einstein on the Beach – Knee 2.
Book of Longing – solo violin music.
Violin Concerto No 2 – Interludes
Tim Fain vn
Orange Mountain Music OMM0050 (46’ DDD)