The first thing to say about Viviane Hagner’s violin playing is that it promotes a bright, sweetly expressive tone, a little unvaried at times but with few obvious influences – save perhaps for Heifetz in Saint-Saens’ Introduction and Rondo capriccioso. Viviane was born in Munich in 1976, whereas her pianist sister Nicole (I’m assuming they’re sisters – we’re not actually told) is two years younger and was born in Berlin. The duo has performed frequently in concert (touring Europe and the Americas) – indeed, their patient though emphatic account of Beethoven’s C minor Violin Sonata suggests a potentially effective partnership (especially in the Adagio cantabile second movement).
The two Saint-Saens performances are oddly unalike in that while the Introduction and Rondo capriccioso is playful and stylish, the Havanaise, though tonally distinctive, suffers overwrought passagework and would have benefited from a lighter, wittier touch. In terms of this particular programme, the Schubert C major Fantasie is the biggest challenge. Here, my main concern was with Nicole, who seems so intent on bringing colourful ‘interest’ to the piano part – lingering a little here, or stressing a phrase there – that the music’s austere momentum is sidelined. I’d say there’s too much small talk where bigger issues are at stake as well, not least over the matter of form, which in this case is both highly original and cumulatively powerful. Fussiness of any kind is an unwanted distraction: come the transition to the closing Allegro vivace, Viviane goes hell for leather while Nicole seems quite lost to the music’s sense of exultation.
Elsewhere there are nice details to savour, and plenty of them. Indeed, as debut albums go, this one shows an abundance of promise. Were that not the case, then apparent musical shortcomings wouldn’t be half as conspicuous. The recordings, which were made at St Michael’s, Highgate in June 1997, offer a lively joint image that’s only occasionally hampered by excessive reverberation.
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