Brahms - Violin Sonata 2 [Frank/Serkin] 

This is the first time Pamela Frank's version of Brahms Second Sonata has found its way into my Blog, the other two Sonatas have been discussed before, i don't know why this one got missed, it started off as my favourite Brahms Violin Sonata, though now i like the other two equally, i was only just playing this Sonata earlier in the month by Boris Belkin [6th June 2011], each of the three Sonata's are indelibly Brahms, and yet each has a unique character, in some ways i feel that the second Sonata has an impish character to it.

Pamela Frank is an American Violinist, born in 1967, and recently turned 44, she made this recording in 1996, the visuals [front and back] are excellent, i like colour themes, and this is all orange and black and brown, two separate shots of Pamela Frank [by Julian Barton] and Peter Serkin [by Carol Weinberg], and nicely juxtaposed alongside each other, one a monotone shot [Serkin], and the other a colour shot [Frank], the lettering is excellent also, i really like this cover.

For me the second movement Andante Tranquillo / Vivace, has these two themes, one of course tranquil, the other more agitated, and they both weave in and out of each other, using their contrasts to excite and soothe, the recording is quite bass heavy, and Serkin's piano doesn't go plink, rather a sort of plomb!, it can be dead and non ringing, especially in trebles, you just don't get that sharp zing high in the right hand, however when the first vivace comes along [1:24-2:21], the piano has a nice bubbly blunted legato to it, very fetching, and the violin is nicely virtuosic, in the second slow section, the violin reaches into impassioned heights [3:29-4:10], gently at first, and then stronger and sweeter, and coming back down to earth again, the next fast section is probably the best, with the violin producing lots of pizzicato figures, tremendously excellent alongside the piano, and then right at the end just when you think the movement is going to end on a tranquil note, the pizzicato violin returns for one last showy burst [6:32-6:43], i just love this movements juxtaposing!. 

Here's Kyung Sun Lee playing the second movement on YouTube.

Various Composers - French Piano Music [Ousset] 

Another clever disc of music, not advocating any Composer inparticular, or really any work, or types of work, but basically it's six French Composers, concentrating on the late 1800's to the early 1900's, it gives a good range of piano styles, and is now a disc that is no longer available, i'm thankful for Ebay, and being able to get hold of such a disc.

Cecile Ousset is French, now 75 years old, and this disc was recorded in 1983.

If i were to put Cecile Ousset in a certain camp, it would be the staccato camp, especially in the Debussy Estampes, i find her jumpy, and there's at times awkward transitions from section to section, on the other hand, her interpretations of the Satie Gymnopedies are supple and dreamy, and it's these three pieces i would like to focus on, they are very similar of course, but also have significant differences, at first it might seem [and sound] like Satie is playing the same piece of music, but in a different key each time, each Gymnopedie has an overall written instruction, number one is 'dolorous', number two 'sad', and number three 'grave', the first Gymnopedie has become the most popular, but on this listen i enjoyed the other two much more, and it's good to hear them as a set, i feel they actually grow on you if you hear them one after another, and maybe that's why i liked number two and three better, here's a short synopsis of each one,

Gymnopedie 1 - if i could use one word to describe this piece, it would be 'dreamily, it's certainly soothing, a regular tolling / chanting in the bass left hand, almost mimics the slow ticking away of the clock, as if life has been slowed down to a static dream, and time becomes irrelevant, this is the most 'happiest' of the three Gymnopedies, even though the title clue 'douloureux' [dolorous] means sad, i feel really soothed and free when i hear this piece, sort of like a soaking in a hot 'musical' bath!.
Gymnopedie 2 - the second piece is so similar, but given the title 'triste' [sad], and here there's sadder keys, as well as a slight agitation, certain keys are hit harder, and there's slightly more variety of execution, but it's so similar in most ways to the first Gymnopedie, i liked this the best.
Gymnopedie 3 - the third Gymnopedie is given the title 'grave', i wouldn't call it serious, or even funeral, it's almost an inbetween of the first two Gymnopedies, and unlike the first two which finish open ended, this last one has a finality to its last note, capping and closing the work.

The word Gymnopedie comes from two words, Gymnos = Naked, and Paed = children, hmmm?, draw your own conclusions as to what Satie was trying to say with these pieces, the YouTube links are by the Pianist Andreas Pfaul.

Faure - Piano Quintet 1 [Roge/Quatuor Ysaye] 

Now here's something to get really excited about, some chamber music from Faure, the Piano Quartets i know fairly well [from Domus / Hyperion], but the Piano Quintets are another matter, they still remain unfamiliar to me, so it was so good to get to know them on this Sunday walk to Church, Faure has this unique sound i hear in no other Composer, he has these odd almost sour accidentals punctuated here and there, which make a nice bittersweet sadness at times, well worth getting to know deeper.

Pascal Roge is French, born in 1951, he recorded this work in 1995, the booklet shows a picture of some rural church, looks like France, with lavender fields in the foreground, these Decca Double issues are really clever and useful, bringing together all of Faure's Piano Quartets and Quintets.

I feel that the First Piano Quintet is superior to the Second, cast in three movements instead of the usual four in all the other works here, lovely rippling piano figures in the opening movement, with the strings in sadness mode, typical Faure, and a beautiful idea, and again delicate piano figures in the slow central movement, like drops of rain, but it's the last movement that i found tremendous, it finds Faure in happy mode, with a very simple almost childlike theme on the piano as an introduction [0:00-0:37], and yet it's so wonderfully a memorable tune, it's really stuck in my brain now, after this there's what sounds like to me as a set of variations on this original piano introduction theme, right after the theme there's a low string serenade [0:37-1:16] very soothing, and variation 1 maybe?, and after this the piano tinkles away in its high register like a musical box [1:16-1:51], very effective, variation 2 possibly?, and then there's a waltz [1:51-2:16], superbly shifting into a sweeter key, and sweeping us across the dance floor [variation 3?], and so it continues, until the opening piano theme comes back again [4:33+], and the whole thing breaks up into what sounds like a fugue for the second half of the movement, certainly less structured, themes and ideas come and go in quicker succession, just before a sort of finale right at the end, there's a moment of repose, where the music slows down and goes quiet [7:56+], the lower strings play a sort of coda, all round an interesting and musically fulfilling end to Faure's first Piano Quintet.

Here's the third movement Allegretto Moderato being played on YouTube.