Search - George Enescu, Maurice Ravel, Peter Nagy :: Ravel: Sonate posthume; Tzigane; Enescu: Impressions d'enfance; Sonata No. 3

Ravel: Sonate posthume; Tzigane; Enescu: Impressions d'enfance; Sonata No. 3
George Enescu, Maurice Ravel, Peter Nagy
Ravel: Sonate posthume; Tzigane; Enescu: Impressions d'enfance; Sonata No. 3
Genre: Classical
 
  •  Track Listings (6) - Disc #1

This record pairs two composers linked by personal and stylistic association with two performers ideally suited to their music technically and temperamentally. Both composer were attracted to gypsy music, as is shown in th...  more »

     
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CD Details

All Artists: George Enescu, Maurice Ravel, Peter Nagy
Title: Ravel: Sonate posthume; Tzigane; Enescu: Impressions d'enfance; Sonata No. 3
Members Wishing: 0
Total Copies: 0
Label: ECM Records
Original Release Date: 1/1/2000
Re-Release Date: 11/25/2003
Genre: Classical
Styles: Chamber Music, Historical Periods, Classical (c.1770-1830), Instruments, Strings
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPCs: 028947605324, 0028947605324

Synopsis

Amazon.com
This record pairs two composers linked by personal and stylistic association with two performers ideally suited to their music technically and temperamentally. Both composer were attracted to gypsy music, as is shown in the works included here: one early and one late work each. Both were members of Fauré's composition class at the Paris Conservatoire, and it seems likely that Ravel's violin sonata--written in 1897 but not published until 1975--with its lush, impressionist texture and soaring, high-flying violin line, was inspired by Enescu's playing and first performed by the two of them, as was Ravel's second, famous sonata three decades later. However, Enescu was not involved with Ravel's Tzigane, dedicated to the young Hungarian virtuoso Jelly d'Aranyi, perhaps because by 1924 he had turned away from pure bravura gypsy fiddling. His own Third Violin Sonata is influenced more by specifically Roumanian folk music; some of the melodic lines, harmonic progressions and general air of melancholy have an almost Oriental character. The 10 Impressions are fascinating, depicting moods, situations and visual scenes, complete with sound effects like squeaking birds, cuckoo clocks, and whistling wind. The main interest of this record, however, is in the playing, and it is spectacular. Kavakos, multiple prize-winner in Europe and America, is a stunning virtuoso but seems uninterested in mere technical display, tossing off the most hair-raising fireworks, from bravura bowings to double harmonics, with casual ease. His tone has a uniquely personal expressiveness; dark, pure, focused, and variable, it can glow intensely or float delicately. Identifying naturally with the idiomatic rhythms, harmonies, and character of the music, he plays with great warmth and passion--a sort of controlled abandon. This must be one of the best Tziganes on record, and Nagy, a splendid pianist and partner, almost sounds like a orchestra. --Edith Eisler
 

CD Reviews

Recommended Without Reservation
Lawrence A. Schenbeck | Atlanta, GA USA | 04/20/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)

"This recording has given me more pleasure than just about anything I've heard in the last half year. The performances are superb, the unique repertoire makes an indelible impression. And it is engineered to demonstration-level standards. You won't believe the variety of colors and gestures these two musicians coax out of their instruments, individually and collectively. It is obvious that they have a deep rapport with each other and a strong commitment to this music.Although the Ravel selections are handled with aplomb, for me it's really the works by George Enescu (1881-1955) that form the heart of this album. Listen once to his Sonata No. 3 "dans le caractere populaire roumain" and you'll never get it out of your head. It's Romanian folk music from the far hills, as remembered and interpreted by a master musician who could see it both from "within" and "without" -- Enescu makes it feel both familiar and utterly mysterious. The Impressions of Childhood are equally complex, sophisticated yet charming. That was one clear-eyed child: there's not an ounce of sentimentality in these memories of birds singing, a night storm, the little stream "at the bottom of the garden." A wonderful CD."