Schubert Fantasie for Violin & Piano; Rondo brilliant; Violin Sonata
Delightful music-making from an outstanding duo
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Franz Schubert
Genre:
Chamber
Label: Harmonia Mundi
Magazine Review Date: 5/2006
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 58
Mastering:
Stereo
DDD
Catalogue Number: HMC90 1870
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Fantasie |
Franz Schubert, Composer
Alexander Melnikov, Piano Franz Schubert, Composer Isabelle Faust, Violin |
Sonata for Violin and Piano |
Franz Schubert, Composer
Alexander Melnikov, Piano Franz Schubert, Composer Isabelle Faust, Violin |
Rondo brillant |
Franz Schubert, Composer
Alexander Melnikov, Piano Franz Schubert, Composer Isabelle Faust, Violin |
Author: DuncanDruce
In nearly every respect this is outstanding. The Rondo and the Fantasie, both written for the virtuoso duo of Karl von Bocklet and Josef Slawik, can sound as if Schubert were striving for a brilliant, flashy style, foreign to his nature. Both are in places uncomfortable to play (when first published, the Fantasie’s violin part was simplified), but you would never guess this from Faust’s and Melnikov’s performance; they both nonchalantly toss off any problem passages as though child’s play.
The Fantasie’s finale and the Rondo are irresistibly lively and spirited, and this duo’s technical finesse extends to more poetic episodes – Melnikov’s tremolo at the start of the Fantasie shimmers delicately, while the filigree passagework in the last of the variations that form the Fantasie’s centrepiece have a delightful poise and sense of ease.
The Sonata’s more intimate style is captured just as convincingly; in all three performances Faust and Melnikov observe Schubert’s often very detailed, careful expression marks, not as a matter of duty, but as a stimulus to the imagination, as a way of entering more deeply into the music.
My one slight reservation concerns Isabelle Faust’s manner of expression. She makes the most of any passionate phrases and is equally convincing at cool, mysterious or dreamlike moments. But the lyrical phrases in the Rondo’s introduction surely demand a more heartfelt utterance. In the Sonata, too, there are places where one longs for something of Fritz Kreisler’s warm personality (Naxos). This quibble aside, it’s a lovely disc, one to listen to over and over again.
The Fantasie’s finale and the Rondo are irresistibly lively and spirited, and this duo’s technical finesse extends to more poetic episodes – Melnikov’s tremolo at the start of the Fantasie shimmers delicately, while the filigree passagework in the last of the variations that form the Fantasie’s centrepiece have a delightful poise and sense of ease.
The Sonata’s more intimate style is captured just as convincingly; in all three performances Faust and Melnikov observe Schubert’s often very detailed, careful expression marks, not as a matter of duty, but as a stimulus to the imagination, as a way of entering more deeply into the music.
My one slight reservation concerns Isabelle Faust’s manner of expression. She makes the most of any passionate phrases and is equally convincing at cool, mysterious or dreamlike moments. But the lyrical phrases in the Rondo’s introduction surely demand a more heartfelt utterance. In the Sonata, too, there are places where one longs for something of Fritz Kreisler’s warm personality (Naxos). This quibble aside, it’s a lovely disc, one to listen to over and over again.
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