These three French violin sonatas make for an attractive disc, not least when they are as well played as they are here. The names of Chee-Yun and Akira Eguchi were unknown to me, but both studied at the Juilliard School and the violinist is a pupil of that fine teacher Dorothy DeLay; clearly they are already accomplished young artists with the violinist producing a beautiful tone.
Thus they offer sensitive playing in Faure's First Sonata, and although I have heard more strongly projected performances and recordings, this is agreeably done and the scherzo has elegance. Debussy's Sonata comes next, and this performance joins the many in the catalogue to remind us how much better the work is than commentators used to think (it was usually called a disappointing last effort from a mortally ill man). It must, however, also be said that the playing is less than magical: one only has to listen to someone like David Oistrakh on Philips (2/67—nla) to know that there is more to discover than Chee-Yun gives us as yet, though I'm willing to believe (particularly when listening to her and Eguchi in the heart-rending second movement) that she may find greater depth in time.
After the Debussy, Saint-Saens sounds like—well, what he is—a decent composer of the second rank. But Chee-Yun's performance of his D minor Sonata is fluent and competent, and I hope that Denon will let us hear more of her. No obvious comparisons come to mind, but a Collins disc with the Debussy and sonatas Saint-Saens sonatas played by Lorraine McAslan and John Blakely has lots of personality. Their fine performance of Ravel's Violin Sonata (the later one, not the inferior early piece that he disowned) may decide you in your choice.'