Various Composers - 'Le Violon Vagabond' Violin Encores [Mourja/Gous]

This is an excellent Violin & Piano compilation, mainly for the fact it goes beyond the usual, into some strange territory at times, Mourja / Gous give us some excellent interpretations, i guess for some of these pieces, this probably represents the only disc that has them, plus this is a diverse disc as well, covering lots of different bases, Harmonia Mundi are an exciting innovative label.

Graf Mourja is Russian, this disc came out in 2002, the front cover painting is by Marc Chagall entitled Der Geigenspieler [The Fiddle Player], i like Chagall, his paintings have a dream / nightmare type of quality to them, on the back inlay, the tracks are organised into alphabetical order, rather than in number order, strange that!, so i rubbed on some red transfers to make things clearer.

On this listening tracks 1, 10 & 12 were the very best, and i would like to talk about these three,
1 Frolov / Piece Piece In The Blues Style [3:42] - Igor Frolov is Russian, composes very much in the style of Gershwin, with sighing and crying in the opening bars, and yet it shows you what can be done with the violin, which also includes pizzicato [1:07-1:15], getting stronger and stronger, and also the piano gets involved in some strong up and down the keyboard playing [2:12-2:33], a nice Bluesy piece.
10 Kroll / Banjo & Fiddle [2:45] - William Kroll was American, this is his celebrated piece, once you get to know it you'll fall in love with it, it's a lovely piece, as the title suggests, the violin uses pizzicato effects which mimic the banjo, it's only a short piece, but it's packed full of incident, starting with staccato twangings, and chop and changing with legato bowings, it's a beautiful idea, in the middle is a central section [0:50-1:52], which is much more lyrical, a waltzy serenade, with some brilliant playing, of course the exuberant opening returns [1:52+], to dazzle to the end, with high treble playing, and ending in some pizzicato twangs!.
12 Sarasate / Carmen Fantasy [13:04] - Pablo De Sarasate was Spanish, his Carmen Fantasy of course comes from themes from Bizet's Opera, a tour de force piece which goes all over the place, basically in six sections and a finale to end it off, it's the longest piece on the album by far, and really it has too many wonderful moments to speak of, section one is a brilliant Fantasia, full of flair and dance rhythms, i like the way the violin has a introductory pizzicato solo, followed by some very high tessitura treble whistlings [1:59-2:22], in section three there's sad treble cryings [4:34-4:57], and later a more complex version of the same [5:37-6:04], with some choice pizzicato at the end, the piece has a tendency to get more and more complex, and highly virtuosic at the end, by the ten minute mark the whole thing's starting to go out of control, furious bowing [10:37+], highly lyrical [11:31+], delving into squeaks almost [11:57+], berserk playing [12:29+], getting more and more frantic, it's bewildering, it must be a nightmare to learn!, but it's a dream to listen to!.

Schubert - Violin Fantasie D934 [Koh/ Uchida] 

A nice disc, with some interesting things on it, the gist of this disc is Fantaisie / Phantasy / Fantasy, starting off in early 1800, and finishing 200 years later, quite a varied journey, plus each piece gets shorter and shorter, i'm pretty well versed in Schubert's late String Quartets / Piano Trios / Piano Quintet / String Quintet, but the Violin & Piano works i'm certainly less familiar with, so it was good to listen to this disc, and familiarise myself with one of his other chamber works.

Jennifer Koh is American, she's now 36, she made this recording in 2003, the front booklet cover is fantastic, showing Koh sitting in a doorway, a nicely ornate door as a background, and the doorposts nicely frame the picture, Koh is in a great pose, violin in hand, and the low level shot creates a great perspective as the doorframe seems to rise above Koh, the lettering is great too, a nice list of the works on the door, and i just love the free lettering of the title, and the light green colour is inspired too.

Schubert's Fantasie D934 lasts nearly 25 minutes, cast in one big movement, and yet it's built up of different sections, the opening is the most gorgeous [0:00-2:58], starting with the most inspired rippling piano, it sets the scene for the whole piece, while the violin plays more longer and singing lines, just listen to the way the piano warbles its way up the keyboard [0:55+], and strays into some great areas / ideas in the treble, delicious trills follow later [1:38+], and this opening three minutes is so superb, it's a shame that the rest of the piece can't sustain this level of invention, but it's still superb, there's a six minute freewheeling dance episode next, and then Schubert uses one of his Lieder tunes as a theme [8:40+], with a bunch of variations on this theme afterwards, each one taking some aspect of the original theme, as this is only my first ever listen, these variations haven't had time to really penetrate into my heart, the third variation is one of quite strong virtuosity [14:56-17:19], both violin and piano challenging each other, it's hard to know where these variations end, and Schubert delves into some sort grandiose conclusion, there's certainly a major statement of intent after what seems to be a restatement of the theme [20:01-22:55], i guess a finale of sorts, it's very good, and then Schubert throws a spanner in the works by giving a fifth variation before a short final ending, yes i admit it seems somewhat to be all over the place, but i think this is the whole point, there's some great stuff in there, certainly not Schubert at his very best, but if you're patient and observant, then you can squeeze the goodness out of this piece.

Here's Andrej Bielow playing the Fantasie on YouTube.

Various Composers - Violin Encores 'Sicilienne' [Kang/Back] 

I bought this for a huge price on Ebay [probably £25], but then just recently i saw another copy on Ebay, and it went for next to nothing!, that's the way the cookie crumbles, however this copy is signed in Korean by the Artist, sideways, opposite to the lettering, the track listing is not the greatest, it misses out on some very nice Encore pieces [Bazzini - Dance Of The Goblins / Paganini - Cantabile / Dinicu - Hora Staccato / Gluck - Dance Of The Blessed Spirits / Kroll - Banjo And Fiddle], and instead gives us some weaker pieces that are off the beaten track, but at least it gives a fresh offering of a recital.

Dong-Suk Kang is South Korean, he is now 58, and he recorded this disc in 1997, the booklet portrait is excellent [photo by Sei Hon Cho], a close up of Kang with violin in hand, nice black & white shot, crisp and clear, the red band on the left contains the Artist name sideways in silver, plus room enough for a personalised signature, it works out a perfect combination, visually well balanced.

Here's David Oistrakh playing Kreisler's Liebesleid on YouTube.

Szymanowski - Mythes [Suwanai/Moll] 

This is a lovely disc, a Japanese version of a Philips European release, the European disc is called 'Souvenir', and has a different cover, but is also very nice, but this is even better, i just love the pose / photography of Suwanai here, it's a disc of a nice mix, taking in four Composers, Tchaikovsky / Szymanowski / Rachmaninov / Wieniawski, so a Russian / Polish mix, this is actually the discs only second outing, even though of course i know many of the pieces from multiple playings on other discs, Suwanai's discs are fairly hard to come by, and now fetch quite a lot of money, i think i bought this disc for a small fortune from someone in Taiwan or Hong Kong [on Ebay], and an excellent quantity of music too [79 minutes].

Akiko Suwanai is Japanese, she's now 40, and she recorded this disc in 1996, the front cover picture [by Christian Steiner] is absolutely gorgeous, a stark almost black & white mono shot of Suwanai, the flowing black dress making a sort of pyramid she sits atop of, the lettering is wonderful, a really great visual product, it's a shame the back inlay isn't of an equal high standard, but it's still very good indeed, a wonderful disc to own.

Well i must admit that i was taken aback by the Rachmaninov 'Danse Hongroise', it's new to me, and i would like to get to know it better, but ultimately it was Szymanowski's Mythes that i found so compelling, evocative and otherworldly, they sound like they appear out of eerie mists, i usually find the opening 'The Fountain Of Arethusa' the best of all, however on this listening i was so taken by the last Mythe 'Dryads and Pan', Dryads are female tree nymphs, while Pan is a wild God with the lower body of a goat, and of course the fame of Pan is with his prowess with the pan pipes, and that's basically what's happening in this Mythe, Pan 'singing' to the tree nymphs, and the nymphs dancing / singing in reply, the branches rustle with the wind, and as the pan pipes are a wind instrument, the trees can 'sing',

Here's Janine Jansen playing Mythes on YouTube, Dryads and Pan starts at [14:00].

Various Composers - 'Fire & Ice' Violin Showpieces [Chang/ Domingo-Berliner Philharmoniker] 

This is one of those wonderful albums that i term 'Violin Showpieces', i don't know if that fits, maybe more correct would be 'Concertante Works', but i so love these albums, all made up of singular pieces, a dozen to a couple of handfuls of works, on this disc it roughly translates to 9 minutes per piece on average, the equivalent of an Overture or something, great variety, this disc is called 'Fire & Ice', meaning warm slow pieces interspersed with icy works of bravura, or it it red hot virtuoso works interspersed with cool and calm works?, either way it's a great mix, and it's amazing what their is in the repertoire to choose from, and this is a well chosen programme, with a couple of pieces that are different enough so that this disc doesn't fall into 'the same as everybody else' syndrome, plus Sarah Chang is an ardent interpreter, bringing warmth and a strong projection to all of these pieces, appeared in my Blog earlier in the year [7th February 2012].

Sarah Chang is American, she's now 32, and she made this recording in 2001, the front and back cover photography [by Sheila Rock] is excellent, crystal clear images, the jet black background, and the lettering in orange and blue really stands out, it was inspired to have 'fire & Ice' written sideways, a quarter way off the booklet, makes it look fantastic, a great visual.

Well i especially liked the Beethoven and Bach works on this disc, and i was pleasantly surprised by the Beethoven work, not something i listen to a lot, and not a work i have been particularly enamoured to, but on this listen i thought it was so sublime, but to top that, it was the Bach work, the famous Air from his Suite 3, maybe overplayed and overexposed, but here Chang plays it with the utmost refinement and simplicity, unassuming nobility, the opposite of a showstopper that it can be in the wrong hands, it starts out of nowhere, almost as if it's in mid flow, there's no 'hey i'm the violin Soloist here' about Chang, she smoothly just lets Bach take the front seat and the glory, it's her sweet gentleness that pays off in dividends, the whole work has a slow tread that is purposely unhurried, it's fairly monotonous, but in the most excellent definition of the word, it's hard to pick out any one section inparticular, as the whole piece seems to gel into one whole, and Bach ends the thing without any flourish or finale to it, so it turns up as if it's always been there, and it goes as if it never came, i just can't get this tune out of my head now, it's one of those things i'll wake up with next morning, and it's still going on repeat in my head!. 

Here's Sarah Chang playing the Bach Air on YouTube.

Various Composers - Violin Recital [Oistrakh /Zertsalova] 

I remember buying this disc in a second hand record shop in London, it was priced £4, and i was debating buying it or not, i eventually decided it was worth it, and i'm glad i did, it's been played fairly regularly since, plus it contains some music i don't have elsewhere, the Schumann Fantasy is a real treat, and the Waxman is a bit of a rarity, all told it's a well chosen programme, and since the demise of the Collins Classical label, it's now hard to find this disc. 

Igor Oistrakh is a Ukrainian Violinist, he is now 81, of course his Father is the famous David Oistrakh, and they certainly look similar, he made this recording in 1989, the front cover picture [by R Carpenter Turner] is an excellent shot of Oistrakh and his Wife Zertsalova, a nice dark background, and dark clothing, makes the duo really stand out, showing both the violin and the piano, the lettering is excellently laid out also, well composed visually.

I very much enjoyed this recital, i switched the disc onto random play, and it's good to get whatever comes next, like i said above, i thoroughly enjoyed the Schumann Fantasy, just the sort of thing that Schumann is renowned for, but it was the Paganini piece that just so melts, it truly is a phenomenal creation, lasting barely over 4 minutes, it really packs a punch, probably the best thing Paganini ever did, i don't care for his Violin Concertos, nor his 24 Caprices, but in one fell swoop this piece redeems him, and secures his reputation, the whole this is based on the most sweetest of violin melodies, the piano is merely there to keep a rhythmic flow, and wow what a melody! [0:00-0:55], it could easily be the vocal line for a great song, Schubert would have been proud of, it rises and falls, but there's a section where the music comes to a penultimate heartache [1:16-1:45], and it's the high treble it reaches that is so wonderful [1:40], and the corresponding section a little while later [2:16-2:36], surprisingly the coda comes in with more than a minute left [2:52+], and it's so heartbreakingly beautiful, you don't ever want it to end, there's even a short little cadenza [3:39-3:56], it's a perfect miniature, seems to have everything, some of the best creations are micro pieces. 

Here's Sarah Chang playing the Paganini Cantabile on YouTube.

Various Composers - Violin Showpieces [Kremer/Chailly-London Symphony Orchestra] 

This is a lovely disc on the Philips Silver Line label, i didn't even know this disc existed until fairly recently, and another purchase from Ebay, it's a disc which concentrates on the French / Belgian repertoire, veering away from usual Ravel / Saint-Saens / Sarasate etc, and concentrating on more rarer works [except for the Chausson], this fills a nice gap in my disc collection, though short on content [56 minutes], it's good on quality, and of course Kremer is great.

Gidon Kremer is Latvian, born in 1947, he's now 65, he recorded this disc in 1980-1981, the front cover booklet is fantastic, a swirl of colour [photography by Koji Kitagawa], like some sort of multi-coloured galaxy, i have a thing about colours, i was always amazed by the strong colours of lights on the Christmas tree, as well the lettering above is wonderfully placed, a great visual product.

Well i have to admit yet again, that it's the Chausson work that really moved me the most, it was only a few days ago that i talked about this piece with Kyung-Wha Chung [1st August 2012], and that's the way my music goes, sometimes it takes ages to get round to listening to the same work again, other times i'm listening to the same work the next day almost!, so the challenge is to hear the same work, yet hear different things in there, i think that the Kremer recording is clearer in the orchestra, you can nicely hear the woodwind, and the deep twang of the double basses!, or maybe it's the dull thud of the timpani! [1:37-1:53], certainly when Kremer comes in [1:57+] he's a lot more up from, you feel you're in the middle of it all as you listen to these performers, and yet there's losses too i guess, i always find the Chausson work to be full of mystery, like something swirling out of the mists, and a vague and ghostly presence also benefits, i like Kremer's complex passagework where he whips up the music into a frenzy by the orchestra [7:26-8:16], Kremer plays the high treble work passage with affection [10:22-11:05], creating a shy innocence, and afterward the more passionate and spirited section by Kremer whips up the orchestra into another heady froth [13:12-13:28], i must admit that this music has a tendency to make me close my eyes, and just revel in the music, there's a sort of a coda at the end, Kremer plays some delicious trills [13:46-14:05], and the flute mimics the violin at the end, a nice touch, and Kremer sends those trills higher and higher [14:52-15:37], until they come down at the end, lovely birdsong like.

Here's Gidon Kremer playing Chausson's Poeme on YouTube.

Various Composers - Violin Showpieces [Chung/Dutoit-Royal Philharmonic Orchestra] 

This is a lovely little disc, and Kyung-Wha Chung is a genius, maybe short timewise [45 minutes], but packed full of quality, i was stunned by this disc when i first heard it back in 2006, and that's where i really fell in love with the Chausson work, last year roughly this time, i was extolling this same disc, and the same Chausson work wowed me then [12th June 2011].

Kyung-Wha Chung is South Korean, she's now 64, it's good to hear she's performing again after being out of action for five years with a finger injury, she recorded this disc in 1977, the front cover photo [by Axel Forster] is excellent, a jet black background, which highlights Chung all the more, nice lighting on the face, i love those brown tones.

Again like last time, i found Chausson's Poeme so heavenly, it starts off quiet, the strings appearing out of the mists, the orchestral introduction is full of creative mystic touches [0:00-1:52], the opening solo violin by Chung is like a cadenza [1:53-2:53], mimicking the opening by the orchestra, the opening minutes seem to be long exchanges between the soloist and orchestra, and the 'second' cadenza by Chung [3:43-4:57], which shows a greater sense of virtuosity about it, expanding on the first cadenza, developing into quite a frenzy at the end, and when the orchestra comes in, there's some passionate forte culminations [5:12-5:29], and then after the violin and orchestra stop taking turns, but rather play together, i love the way Chausson slow builds up and up the violin solo into a passionate froth [7:44-8:13], later the violin plays high in the treble register, nice and quiet, but sweet and passionate too [10:42-11:22], Chung handles this superbly, in the background you can hear a muted harp playing [11:58+], it's a lovely little touch, and what a great orchestral instrument the harp can be when employed creatively, towards the end there's a strong rousing forte / finale [13:42-14:01], bringing the main tune out loud and clear, the closing pages are very creative, and instead of something loud and boisterous to finish on, it's exactly the opposite, high treble trills from Chung [14:20-14:32], done with real compassion, and later more [15:14+], i love the way Chung plays so high [15:43-16:13], like a small bird twittering in the treetops, it's a gorgeous piece, and 'Poeme' [instead of poem, ok i know Chausson is French] is a very apt name to call it, there's a lovely exotic women's fragrance from Lancome which is equally gorgeous, i think of the Chausson piece as an exotic perfume wafting on the breeze.

Here's Oliver Charlier playing Chausson's Poeme on YouTube.