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Biber’s Mystery Sonatas: a riddle inside an enigma

2025-09-26T08:37:00

The 15 mysteries and Virgin of the Rosary ca 1515-20 Netherlands The Met

Biber’s Mystery Sonatas continue to inspire and fascinate modern violinists, particularly for their unique use of scordatura. Elena Chernova‑Davis examines these cryptic 17th‑century masterpieces

The Bohemian–Austrian composer and violinist Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber (1644–1704) was a trailblazer whose groundbreaking violin writing – high positions, polyphonic texture, daring tunings – reshaped the violin’s expressive potential. His works remain a cornerstone of Baroque virtuosity and spirituality, replete with theological symbolism, Jesuit-influenced naming and a mischievously cryptic personality…

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