Search - Grumiaux, Crossley, Sebok :: Fauré/Franck: Violin Sonatas

A treasure to be cherished

Samuli Repo | Helsinki, Finland | 01/15/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I can not but echo the previous reviewer's words: beauty and mystery truly come in spades in this Philips Musica da Camera issue of the Fauré and Franck sonatas, recorded beautifully in 1977 and 1978 respectively. In both the Fauré sonatas, Arthur Grumiaux is backed by Paul Crossley; in the Franck sonata the accompanist is Gyorgy Sebok (this not being specified in the product details). That said, it would be best to let the music speak for itself; however, as yet there are no audio snippets available so maybe a few words on the music are in order here.First of all, the two Fauré sonatas. Grumiaux had an impeccable sense of line and astonishing tonal control, and they are demonstrated at their best in these Fauré interpretations. The same can be said of Crossley's piano playing - from the gossamer intro of the first sonata and the quietly pulsating melodic curves of the second sonata's Andante to the glittering quicksilver textures of the second sonata's finale, he manages to find just the right amount of expressiveness and tonal shading to complement Grumiaux's masterly violin playing. The second sonata in particular, one of Fauré's late works, comes across as a seamless flow of musical bliss in the hands of these performers; at times almost meditatively peaceful and contemplative, at times mercurial and ecstatic (particularly so in the second sonata's finale), they remain a treasure to be cherished.As for the Franck sonata, Sebok may at first sound a bit less flexible than Crossley, but then again, this is just a minor quibble as the Franck sonata (at least to my tastes) seems to require a different approach than Fauré - a bit more violent if that's the appropriate word. And indeed, this suits the music rather well as Grumiaux too sounds as if he's putting a bit more edge and anger to his playing. This is not to say that the Franck sonata is given a coarse treatment here, on the contrary. Compared with Fauré, however, Franck's sonata is inherently a shade coarser but none the less beautiful and appealing for that; the work has a tendency to grow on you with each listen.Taken together, these Fauré and Franck sonatas make an interesting and generous coupling - and what's more, it is very hard to imagine this music presented more beautifully than on this disc. It runs up to almost 73 minutes of sheer luxury, and can be warmly recommended to anyone hooked on Grumiaux or Fauré -or French chamber music in general, for that matter. This is an absolute gem."

Music of incredible beauty and mystery

Scott68 | Columbus, Ohio United States | 12/23/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Gabriel Faure's first sonata is my third favorite violin sonata ever written, a likely candidate for the most under-rated violin sonata of all time. The piece starts with a melody so pure, lyrical and full of beauty that the music is simply impossible not to completely fall in love with. I find the piano and violin parts equally interesting, the piano accompaniment uses alot of accidentals, alerted scales, and high amounts of chromaticism and augmented intervals giving the music a floating, dream-like quality with a sense of mystery. Fuare was himself a pupil of Camille Saint-Saens and his pupils included Enescu and Ravel. For me, those composers were the core of the French impressionists. In a way, they invented their own style of music much the same way Monet and Renior had their own style of painting. Arthur Grumiaux is an incredible violinist who gets such a unique tone from his Guadagnini and he plays with such beauty and warmth that it will astound you. Yet again Mr. Grumiaux shows his ability to speak with every note and draw you in as a listener from his fully-inspired playing. His timing is impeccable and phrasing is emotional.If you like the music of Saint-Saens, Franck. Ravel, Debussy, Chausson, Satie, and Poulenc then you have to get this CD."

Astonishing beauty

Jorge V. Grossmann | Boston, MA USA | 11/29/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This recording of the Franck Sonata with Grumiaux and Crosley is definitely better than the one with Hadju, released on Philips DUO classics. Crossley's fine piano touch creates amazing atmospheres especially in the poetic Faure Sonata No. 1. I have this in an LP and has always been one of my favorites. Grumiaux's warm tone and honest and thoughtful playing will always make him one of the greatest of all times."