An Extraordinary Session!...
Sébastien Melmoth | Hôtel d'Alsace, PARIS | 08/09/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
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Kudos to the producer at Philips who arranged for Arthur Grumiaux and Claudio Arrau to meet in Amsterdam, 1975-76, for this extraordinary collaboration.
Grumiaux and Arrau seem to have had a genuine rapport with each other and with Beethoven; for here we have impeccable musicianship realizing phenomenal beauteousness while expressing profound metaphysical philosophy.
Both artists had a very firm control of their technique which engendered genuine purity of sound-production combined with a certain stability of timing throughout the overall design of a piece.
Together they bring a dedication to searching and revealing the essential character of Beethoven's genius.
This they achieve by unmistakable lyrical and rhythmic incision with a fine balance of levitas and gravitas: a combination of calm serenity and high drama. Their sectional phrase-parsing is marvellous.
They clearly reveal Beethoven's yin-yang dialectic: his synthesis of masculine virility (content) within feminine curvature (form): this is Beethoven's most salient characteristic.
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Furthermore, the duo's selection of works for this programme makes for a very pleasing listening experience: disc 1 = Sonatas Nos. 1, 2 & 4; disc 2 = Nos. 5, 7 & 8.
We have to look at Beethoven's little-known Violin Sonatas.
The Opus 12 set of three is late-Classical (all major key) which parallels the Op. 10 set of solo Sonatas.
Opera 23 & 24 form a pair (minor/major) on the Classic-Romantic cusp.
The three Sonatas of Op. 30 parallel the three solo Sonatas of Op. 31 in Beethoven's embarkation unto the stormy seas of early-Romanticism with their heroic pathos and joie de vie-bonhomie.
Finally, Opp. 47 & 96 should be seen as a fully Romantic pair which (arguably) could parallel the Op. 95 String Quartet and the Op. 73 Piano Concerto, respectively.
Thusly, Grumiaux' and Arrau's choices for this programme = two Op. 12s, the Opp. 23-24 pair, and two Op. 30s.
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Much as the Kempff-Schneiderhan duo's 1953 readings of these Sonatas are rightly admired for their jazzy verve and swing, the Grumiaux-Arrau duo here achieve an aristocratic reading which puts the brakes on an overly forward-thrust, and lives in the moment, as it were: an absolutely gorgeous programme of noble simplicity.
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The recorded sound is excellent with the instruments very well closely miked, sans reverb.
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Also recommended:
Ludwig van Beethoven: The Sonatas for Piano and Violin - Wilhelm Kempff / Wolfgang Schneiderhan
Complete Sonatas for Violin & Piano (4 CDs)
Beethoven - Complete Violin Sonatas Vols. 1&2 (4 CDs)
Beethoven: Violin Sonatas (Spring & Kreutzer )
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Genuine performance!
Q. CHENG | 04/06/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Thanks for Australian Eloquence! Arrau and Grumiaux recorded only six of the Beethoven violin sonatas, and here is the first integral release of this half dozen.
Arrau is my favorite pianist, i like his perfect technic and tone quality.Grumiaux is a gentlemanly violinist maybe he is lack of great powell, but so beautiful his tone is. So I think their beethoven is genuine performance!
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Track Listings (9) - Disc #1