Philippe Graffin has one major advantage over his rivals: his pure intonation. Even the most demanding of Ysaye’s flights of virtuosic fancy sound beautiful, with the accurate tuning complemented by fine tone, thrillingly precise fingerwork, plus excellent recording. Graffin refuses to overplay the music; tone and expression are always natural and unforced, and there are none of the harsh accents that occasionally disfigure Mordkovitch’s performances. Though he follows Ysaye’s very detailed instructions more exactly than most violinists, there’s also a strong element of fantasy, the music developing in a seemingly unconstrained and spontaneous way, the individual movements sharply characterized. The stunning bowing variations and rubato of the Presto finale of the Fourth Sonata, and the playful grace of the Allegretto poco Scherzoso in the First Sonata are just two examples.
I was bothered by one thing in Graffin’s playing – occasional rhythmic weakness. In the First Sonata’s finale, the rubato gets out of hand, losing the underlying rhythmic impetus, and the opening Allemande of Sonata No. 4 is similarly undermined by his unwillingness to dwell sufficiently on the longer notes. In these places Shumsky shows the way – his freedoms are always related to a strong underlying sense of pulse. Graffin’s Danse Rustique in Sonata No. 5, on the other hand, is splendidly poised and bouncy. The beautifully played additional items are a real bonus, as are the thoughtful and illuminating notes by Graffin himself.
Shumsky and Mordkovitch give the music more grandeur, maybe, and Shumsky’s daring bravura in the Sixth Sonata is unrivalled. Graffin, however, as a ‘grand-pupil’ of Ysaye (via Joseph Gingold) shows himself well placed to carry on the tradition of Ysaye performance – I sense he has been inspired by the great violinist’s own recordings.'